One Minute More
by Zenappa
Summary: He wasn't exactly sure where it all went wrong. He wasn't even sure where it began. The complications that had arisen from his life that he had somehow thrown himself into had grown drastically. He had normally though that his silver tongue and his quick ability to lie would be able to get him out of any horrible circumstance, but this time, it simply wasn't enough.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! I started another story to continue on, but have no fear! This one is very familiar to my Captain America one, based on events that I can just pound out whenever. A little background… I play Loki on RP for Kik and Instagram, and I absolutely love the way his character has just run away with whatever I throw at it. This fic was actually inspired by my dearest friend, Illyana (on here she's **asongtobesung**), and her wonderful fic that she's writing as well called **The Lonely One**! So check that out, because not only am I featured in it, it's also fantastic! :D So please read and review this lovely story because it would mean so much to me! The pairings will not be what you're used to, but just stick with me! A lot of people will be making appearances so stick around and I'll update when I can! I love you all! :)

**One Minute More**

He wasn't exactly sure where it all went wrong. He wasn't even sure where it began. The complications that had arisen from his life that he had somehow thrown himself into had grown drastically. He had normally thought that his silver tongue and his quick ability to lie would be able to get him out of any horrible circumstance, but this time, it simply wasn't enough. In his old life, he wouldn't hesitate to blame the entire series of events on someone else who had gotten involved along with himself, but he knew that this was entirely his fault. He couldn't bring himself to blame anyone else; they weren't without fault of course, but he owed them at least that much. The only thing that kept him going, at least for now, was that he was the only cause of all of this.

He held his hands to his stomach, sinking further back into the chair that he had folded himself into. He was going to die, there was no doubt about it, but at least he had lived his life without regrets. Eternity wasn't as long as he originally hoped, he supposed, and neither was forever. Knowing that he had done what he wished to do was the single most important thing to him right now. He had been lied to his entire childhood by the man who had called himself his father, and he had vowed to himself never to lose himself in this twisted game. Yet, he did anyway. He had never felt as much pain as this in his entire life as this very moment. Perhaps he deserved it, but none of that mattered right now. He had broken every vow that he had ever made, he had hurt the few he actually cared for and now, at the end, he was completely alone.

As he slowly moved his hands away from his abdomen, the blood that stained his hands blurred his vision. He winced, fiddling with his solid gold engraved ring on his finger. He couldn't remember how he had gotten it back, not even recalling how it got slipped back onto his hand. The memories were blurring fast and he used his last ounce of magic to recall where it all went wrong… or it could have been where it all went right. After all, he hadn't lived until that very moment when he discovered how to feel, how to love, how to discover the world as it was meant to. He continued to push it all away, but now the thoughts stuck with him until the end.

He squinted his eyes shut, wrapping his arms around the gaping bloody wound in his stomach and shut his eyes for the last time. The memories that replayed over and over in Loki's head would last a lifetime.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Loki was the God of Mischief, however young he may be. He was known for playing tricks and causing drama amongst the citizens of Asgard; that was simply his reputation, one he took very seriously and carried with pride. Among the best gods to trick was his own brother, Thor. Both of the young gods had recently reached the young age of 1000, although they each didn't look a day over 21. Immortality definitely had its perks. Odin had promised to take them to other realms when they were both old enough, but Loki was tired of waiting.

He had studied the Nine Realms since he was a young boy, aspiring to be King of Asgard after his father finally chose a successor from his two sons. Asgard always seemed the most glamorous of them all, and Loki found himself constantly lucky that he was a part of this realm instead of Migard or Jotunheim, to say the least. Funny enough, those were the other two realms he would come into direct contact the most. Perhaps it was the hatred he had developed from his studies that drove the young god to such drama and force, but Loki was always one for flair anyway.

The sun shone bright upon the Asgardian castle, illuminating every curve and turn of the golden arches. Many of the citizens of the realm were outside, enjoying themselves in some way whether it be a horseback ride or training in the open fields. Everyone was somehow entertained, to say the least. Loki was laying on top of his green quilted bed in the least amount of clothing possible, trying to stay cool despite the heat radiating in every crack of the palace. He had his eyes closed, dreaming up yet another scheme to trick his idiotic brother into another ruse. It was all for entertainment, of course, but this one had to be good. He was especially bored today.

It was almost too hot to move, but somehow Loki managed to stay cool. He wasn't sure why, but he certainly found the motivation to get to his feet and make his plan a reality. He pulled on a loose fitting black shirt and headed outside to get his work done as soon as possible.

As he sauntered through the gardens, murmuring spells under his breath, his mind raced at the speed of light. He spun the solid gold band around his index finger a few times, his voice gradually becoming louder and louder. This had to work; it was going to be his best trick yet.

Loki took a seat next to the blossoming tree in the center of the main garden and closed his eyes once more, letting the heat bounce off of him. He never questioned why that happened exactly; he was too distracted by his ingenious plan to think about anything else at the moment. His mind continued running and he never quite got the nap he so desired, for a few moments later, the god of thunder himself came tearing up the pathway.

There was a slight pause as Loki mentally prepared himself for the arrival of his brother. The footsteps became louder and louder until they almost seemed to pound throughout the mischief god's entire body. They stopped inches away from where Loki was leaning against a tree, and Loki smirked with his eyes closed, knowing that everything was already going to plan.

"Hello brother," came Thor's booming voice, and Loki reluctantly opened his piercing green eyes. He widened his usual grin as he looked up into his older brother's grin.

"Enjoying yourself?" Loki questioned, the lopsided smile never fading from his face.

Thor narrowed his eyes, instantly suspicious of what the dark-haired god had in store. Loki knew Thor would never be able to figure his scheme out; no matter how much Thor liked to argue in his own case, Loki was simply smarter and more cunning than him. "What have you planned?" Thor asked cautiously.

"Is it a crime to simply relax and rest in Mother's gardens? Is it a crime to sit and soak in the sun's warmth on this beautiful Asgardian day? I didn't know there were rules to where I could unwind, brother."

Thor froze where he stood, the compassion clearly showing as plain as day on his face. Loki suppressed an eye roll; Thor was so gullible and he loved it. Loki himself was never one for emotions. Perhaps it was because of his curse, but he never thought about it in that way before… it was never a burden, simply a helpful tool to him to control himself. His so-called curse had been with him since the day he was born. Twiddling with his golden ring once more, he recalled the day when one of Thor and Loki's closest friends had died. Thor had been a mess, sobbing all over the place, unable to stop; Loki, on the other hand, had felt nothing. When he had asked his father about the strange absence of emotions, Odin had sighed and explained that he had no feelings built into his being whatsoever. Loki had found this very peculiar and had repeatedly asked why he was different from Thor if they were brothers. Odin had never explained why this occurred to the god but fashioned him a golden ring that returned all feelings and emotions to him. Along with the sentiments returned the feeling of pain.

Loki smirked up at Thor, the plan growing deeper and deeper in his mind. He slipped the ring off of his finger and dropped it on the ground without the thunder god noticing. He stood up rather quickly, the blood rushing through his head, and heaved another sigh. His brow was dripping with sweat and yet, as soon as the ring was removed from his finger, the feelings were washed away like a seashell in a wave. He smirked, rolling his shoulders backwards as he stretched.

"I'm going to go for a swim," Loki announced, wanting to free himself from the awkward silence that he and his brother had lapsed into. Thor nodded once and Loki hoped that he realized the space needed between them. As Loki sauntered away in the heat in the opposite direction, he peered over his shoulder once to see Thor picking up the ring that he had left in the dust. The blond god pocketed the ring, making Loki question his intentions, but either way… as long as Thor had it, the plan would work.

Loki never went to the pool by the palace, however.

He headed up to his bedroom once more, collapsing on the bed and running his hands through his black hair. He counted to a hundred and then narrowed his eyes, sitting upright once more, deciding how to attempt this. Loki swung his legs on the side of the bed and slowly pinched his arm. Nothing. A smile crept over his face and he slowly padded over to the large window overlooking the rest of Asgard. He finally spotted Thor walking up the pathway into the castle and Loki slapped himself on the arm roughly. Watching closely, he noticed how Thor flinched as Loki's hand made contact with his own arm. The god of mischief let out a tiny chuckle and observed as Thor continued his stride into the palace.

Loki crept quietly out of his bedroom and followed his brother into the main throne room, holding back a chuckle as he surveyed the grand golden room. Thor sauntered up to the throne, itching his arm where Loki had pinched it. He kneeled before Odin, obviously showing that he needed something from his father. Loki stepped on his own foot, examining how Thor winced in pain from the fury that Loki should have been feeling. The tricks continued for a while more until Loki hit his arm on the corner of the wall that he was hiding beyond. He swore and Thor let out a holler, causing Loki to wince. Whoops. It seemed he was not as stealthy as he had originally thought, however, for Odin appeared around the corner not a moment later.

"Greetings father," Loki smirked. "And what do I owe the pleasure?"

Odin was not amused however, "The games stop here!"

Loki held his hands in the air, not making eye contact with the ruler of Asgard. "Just a little fun, no need to get worked up about it."

"When is it not a little fun for you, Loki?" Odin hissed, his eye narrowing smaller and smaller.

"What's life without a little mischief?"

Odin replied swiftly, "A life worth living for. Mischief is the last thing we need, especially of the growing powers from Jotunheim as of late."

Thor reappeared as well, moments later, clutching his right arm. Loki didn't even try to suppress the grin that crept up on his face. This was just too priceless; the day was getting better and better by the moment. "Did the god of thunder get an injury in the throne room?" questioned the dark-haired god, the smile seemingly stuck on his face.

"Enough Loki," Odin shouted, but Loki didn't care. He was on a roll and wasn't about to be stopped now.

Thor made a face, not removing his hand from his arm. "You tricked me brother!" he shouted, the fury showing on his face as clear as the skies this morning.

"Really?" Loki smirked. "I had not noticed." He walked over to Thor and plucked the ring from his pocket, sliding it back on his own finger.

Odin was not thrilled in the least bit, but Loki did not seem to care. "You abused the ring's power, the same ring that I forged you to protect you, and for that, you must be punished."

Loki raised an eyebrow, "When has that ever protected me? My curse as you call it is not a burden to me. I did not commit any crimes today, therefore you cannot punish me as the king."

"I can punish you as a father would for misbehaving."

Loki clenched his jaw, knowing he was trapped. His father had never gotten involved with his little tricks and schemes before, but this was different today. He was not sure why exactly, but both his father and his brother were looking at him like he was a completely different person. "You cannot be serious," he protested, raising his eyebrow. "I did nothing wrong!"

"You need to learn when the guiles should end," Odin proclaimed, waving his staff in the air and pointing it directly at Loki. "From this day until fourteen suns have risen and fallen, you are hereby exiled to Migard."

Loki's jaw dropped open and even Thor looked a little uneasy at this sentence.

Thor took a step forward, "Father…"

"This is my sentence, my sons, and you will learn respect."

Loki had no time to lie his way out of the situation, his silver tongue failing him in his actual time of need. Before he had time to blink, his golden world that he had grown up had disappeared from his vision and everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

When Loki's eyes fluttered open for the first time in what seemed like days, the god of mischief was very confused. He could not remember much from the past few hours, let alone the rest of the day. His mind constantly filled with pounding thoughts that never really connected with each other, until he saw a sign that changed his life. He swore under his breath, not believing his luck. Everything came back in a rush and Loki stumbled backwards. This wasn't Asgard anymore.

No, this was Migard.

Everything looked so unfamiliar and... revolting. He peered at the sign that clearly said, "Welcome to New York." If that wasn't a Migardian name, then he wasn't a god. He held his hand, leaning against the wooden stake. How was he supposed to survive fourteen sunrises in this awful place? It seemed impossible. He would rather face two hundred Frost Giants than this punishment. Odin really wanted to hurt him this time, and Loki wasn't sure if it was truly called for.

He heaved a sigh, not sure what to do or where to start. He started walking in the direction of where the signs were pointing, hoping that the mortals on this planet weren't as bad as everyone had talked about on Asgard. He narrowed his eyes as he wandered into a tiny little village. He headed into the first door that he came across, hoping to find a quiet place to lay low for the next two weeks.

Just his luck, the door was locked.

Loki sighed, summoning up his magic to unlock the door and pushed his way inside. It wasn't like anything he was expecting. Inside was a small little room that looked about a quarter of what his was back in the Asgardian room. It didn't look like anyone was residing in this place so Loki plopped on the bed, already overwhelmed and exhausted, and instantly passed out.

He awoke a few hours to an aggravating noise. He leapt to his feet, grabbing the lamp from the side table and swung it around in a circle, ready to conjure up some magic to blow the place if needed. The sound continued although it showed that no one was in the room other than Loki himself. He frowned, slowly moving in the direction of the peculiar noise.

He caught a sight of a flickering box in the back corner of the room and edged closer. There! That was the noise! He slammed the lamp into the black box, breaking it instantly with his strength. Loki made a face as sparks flew out of the machine, still not understanding what it was. He peered at the print at the bottom of the black box, reading the words "SONY" over and over again. This SONY machine was now dead, whatever it was.

Now that he was awake, the thoughts kept him from returning to his sleep. He sighed, running a hand through his hair, and used his magic once more to summon his armor. As his familiar golden horned helmet and scepter appeared on the bed beside him, a smile crept up on his face, glad to see something somewhat recognizable in an unfamiliar world. He left the rest of his armor in the room but grabbed his staff and shut the wooden door behind him.

It was time to explore this realm.

As he approached the building next to the building his small room was in, he peered in the window. It seemed to be some sort of shop from what he could make out. That was no help... Loki may be a god, he may be immortal but he was still hungry.

He headed further down the street, feeling his stomach gurgle. He cursed himself for bringing the ring, even though he knew it wasn't his fault. It was because of his father that he was stuck here naturally. Somehow, he knew that this was only the first in a change of events to come but he just wasn't sure what yet. That is, until he met her.

She was standing on the street corner, simply staring at him like he was the most interesting thing to look at in the world. Loki wasn't bad looking, but having a little girl that didn't look over the age of ten in mortal years lock her eyes on you was a tad unnerving. Even for a god. He tried to ignore her, continuing down what he presumed was a mortal street. The lighting was dark and he could not really see well; after all, his mission was to get a simple layout of the town and a place to find food, preferably some that was actually appealing; however he didn't keep his hopes high. Loki spied a building across the street from where he was standing that smelled like bread and he thought he might find some luck there. He headed across the street, away from the blonde devil child, and peered in the window once more for what seemed like the millionth time today.

Loki flipped his staff around in his hand once before he made to smash the window in. Just as the scepter and glass were about to make contact, a small voice piped up from behind him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The god jumped in the air and spun around, his scepter swinging to the side. There, standing not two feet from him, was the little blonde girl that had been watching him earlier.

Loki's heart hammered in his chest as he struggled to catch his breath. "I think I know what I'm doing kid," he snapped, clearly annoyed. "Leave me alone."

The kid didn't move. "There's alarms all over the building but if you want to get yourself caught, be my guest," she said quietly. "I was never here."

Loki rolled his eyes, already having zero tolerance for this girl. But he lowered his scepter all the same and leaned it up against the wall of the building. There was another way in but it required magic and he wasn't entirely sure if he should freak the little girl out just yet.

"I took your advice, now shoo!" Loki made a gesture with his hands like he wanted her gone.

The blonde girl still refused to move. He shrugged; she asked for it. He pressed his hand against the doorknob to the shop with the food and summoned the magic that he had learned to melt the metal down. He tried his hardest to ignore the stares on his back, but he could still feel them nonetheless. As the doorknob was completely gone, he repeated the actions with the hinges and the door swung wide open.

Loki didn't even get one step inside.

"Can you teach me how to do that? I love playing with fire."

Loki sighed, trying to calm himself down enough so he wouldn't strangle the girl. He slowly turned around, keeping a straight face as best as he could. "Magic." And that time, however sarcastic he sounded, that was the truth. He turned away again and headed deeper into the store, looking for something that seemed to look somewhat edible. Tiny footsteps sounded from behind him and this time, he didn't try to contain the groan that escaped from his lips.

"Listen girl," he hissed. "I don't know what you want with me, but you need to just disappear and leave me alone. Scat."

The blonde girl shook her head, her tiny waves bouncing around her shoulders. "You're fascinating and very handsome," came the only response Loki was getting.

He heaved a sigh, rubbing his temples. "I'm dangerous," he said at last. "You can't afford to be seen with someone like me. I can't get caught to begin with. How old are you anyway, ten?"

"Eleven."

Loki shook his head, "Whatever. I need you to leave."

The girl froze in the doorway to the store and Loki breathed a sigh of relief, almost positive that he had scared her away somehow. He headed into the back of the store, grabbing a few loaves of bread along with whatever he could grab.

Much to his dismay, as Loki returned to the front of the store, the blonde girl was still standing at the door. This time, he couldn't stop the groan that escaped from his open mouth.

"Why must you bother me so?" the god demanded, rubbing his temple.

As usual, the girl ignored him, saying nothing in response. Perhaps she was learning, but that thought faded quickly from Loki's head as he made to push past her. She didn't budge.

"Do you mind?" he frowned, taking another step closer to the door frame.

"Take me with you and I'll let you live," she whispered in a voice so low and demonic that Loki thought he was hearing things.

Loki raised an eyebrow, "I beg your pardon?" He had to have heard the young girl wrong. Was she honestly threatening him? That was almost laughable!

She blinked once and a ring of fire surrounded the god all at the same time. His blood seemed to freeze where he stood and yet, he wasn't so sure why. What was wrong with this picture? He was almost paralyzed, not being able to speak or move. He gasped for breath, the fire closing in on him rapidly. Suddenly, the world of mortals and humans had changed and the girl wasn't so innocent anymore.

"My offer still stands," the blonde girl smirked, almost as devious as Loki's normally was. Almost.

As the fire grew smaller and smaller around Loki, he knew she had him trapped. He heaved a sigh, shutting his eyes. "Fine," he huffed. "You can come with me down the street but no farther."

"Deal," the devil child held out a small hand for the mischief god to take and shake as best as he could with his arms full of random food.

Loki ignored her, as the fire died away, and pushed past her, heading out into the streets once more. The child scurried to his side, and Loki instantly regretted making that deal.

"Why don't you like fire, Loki?" the girl questioned, piping up from out of nowhere.

Loki froze in his spot, instantly ceasing his walking. "How do you know my name?"

"Is Asgard pretty?"

"Who the hell are you?"

The blonde girl smiled, "I'm a mutant."

Loki still didn't understand at first, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. He didn't say anything in response but the girl kept babbling.

"What? Did Odin never share with you the story behind us mutants?"

Loki's confusion and anger grew deeper as the young child seemed to know more and more about him as time went on. These so-called mutants, the name sounded Migardian and yet now he wasn't so sure anymore, could prove a potential threat to the safety of Asgard. If she knew who Odin was, then things were getting serious. It was time for this young child, if she even was a kid, to tell the truth.

"Who the hell are you?" Loki demanded again, his eyes piercing hers.

She didn't move her lips but he could hear her voice clearly. "A mutant." It took him a minute to realize that she was inside his head. He shook it frantically, hating the invasion of privacy.

"Get out of my head!" he exclaimed angrily. "I don't know who you are but you better stop it right now."

"Make me," came her taunting voice, still bedded deep in his brain. "I, along with many others residing on this planet, have special abilities that we were born with." She paused and started to talk normally again, "The mind-reading thing is pretty common actually."

Loki had to roll his eyes, "So there's more of you?"

"Not particularly," she said. "I'm currently on the run. There's a lot of people I've pissed off recently."

"I wonder why."

The sarcasm wasn't lost on the child. She continued walking as he did, both of them striding at the same pace now that calmness had taken over. She made a face at him once before she piped up yet again.

"I'm Illyana by the way," she smiled sincerely. "Illyana Rasputina, but you can call me Illy."

Loki smirked, "I happen to like little bitch personally."

She made another face at him and he had to laugh, but his mind was already whirling.

Illyana.

That was a name that would stick with him forever, not to mention completely beautiful. Not that he would ever admit it, naturally. Such a contradiction from the annoying personality of the little girl, but still, there was something there. Loki looked over at her and gave the first smile that he had produced in days.

"So," he coughed to avoid any awkward tension. "Any tips on how to survive Migard?"

Illyana shrugged, "Don't get killed."

"I don't think I have to worry about that."

"I don't know about that," she said seriously. She paused, heaving the biggest sigh that Loki had ever seen for someone that young. Her chest rose and fell twice before she spoke up again. This time, it was only just a whisper, but it still struck the same punch that Loki had felt before.

"Everyone can be killed."


	3. Chapter 3

Illyana's words continued to haunt Loki throughout the night and continuing into the morning. He awoke the next morrow on an unfamiliar bed, having survived his first night on this unusual planet. It was strange and unpleasant, but at least he had company now… even if the company was an annoying ten-year old blonde mutant who would not shut her mouth for the life of her. Surprisingly, he did not care; the company was enough for now. He sighed, staring at the ceiling as he recognized the quiet breathing of the girl in question herself on the ground in front of him. Loki had made her sleep on the ground, refusing to share a bed with the little girl. It was already too cramped for him and having extra space taken up was the last thing he needed.

_Anyone can be killed._

If only they knew… He shook his head, not wanting to put the thoughts of his past into his head where Illyana would be able to read them clearly. Damn mutants. He wasn't sure how many others there were, but he was already regarding them as the same level of humans. He wasn't fond of their little powers, even if their magic was eerily similar to his own. He waited a few minutes more before pushing back the covers and throwing on his jacket. He needed to get out of here.

Loki was almost successfully out the door when a small voice piped up from beside him. He suppressed a groan as he realized that he had woken Illyana up. He had been hoping to leave before she had realized that he had left. Now that those plans were ruined, he had other things to concern himself with. He flung open the door, not exactly caring whether or not he hit the young girl. He didn't wish to deal with her right now. It was complicated.

"Where are you going?" came an innocent sounding voice from behind the god and this time, there was no stopping the groan that exploded from his lips. "Are you leaving me?"

She sounded so damn harmless, curse her soul. He finally reluctantly turned around, giving Illyana a good-natured glare. "I am going somewhere that is absolutely none of your business," he snapped.

Illyana gave a tiny smile, knowing she had successfully angered Loki already in the day. It was then that Loki knew the devil inside of her lurked. "Can I come with?" she asked curiously.

"Nay."

"Why not?" Illyana whined, sitting upright and folding her arms over her chest.

Loki rolled his eyes, "'Tis because I declared it so. Now, be a good little girl and rest safely." He closed the door behind him, stepping out of the doorframe and into the daylight beyond. The town still seemed rather empty, but Loki wasn't complaining. He needed the solitude to survive these two weeks, especially now that he had acquired another companion. A rather annoying one at that.

Not thirty seconds later, the door to the apartment swung open again and Illyana appeared in the doorway. "You forgot something," she declared.

Loki spun around on his heels, "What is it?"

Illyana gave a small grin, knowing she had him trapped once again. Loki narrowed his eyes, simply waiting for the small child to make her move. She knew how to play the game, he gave her that much credit, but he was not content with that little known fact either. It wasn't looking good for the god, no matter what the age of the little girl. She held up her fist, locking eye contact with Loki, as he took in what she was clutching in her hand.

"You know, I do have magic of my own," she said nonchalantly. "I wonder what would happen if my magic mixed with yours. What would happen to you? What would happen to this? How about your home? Your family? Your magic? Your powers?"

"You are certainly something are you not?" Loki narrowed his eyes, not pleased with the way that things were working out whatsoever.

Illyana shrugged, tossing his scepter towards him. He caught it with ease; his fingers slipped from the sweat where the blonde girl had been holding it tightly. "That's what people say," she smirked.

He shook his head, spitting out, "Mutant."

"God."

"That was a compliment."

Illyana simply shrugged, "So was yours. I'm simply returning the favor. I'm not cruel."

"I beg to differ."

"I'm sure you do."

Loki rolled his eyes; he couldn't win. "Just come with me, mutant," he retorted with nothing else to say. Illyana's smirk grew wider at the prospect and followed him out into the town.

Loki took in a deep breath, doing his absolute hardest to ignore the girl walking at his side. This was getting downright embarrassing, constantly being shown up by a little blonde child, mutant or not. Sure, she had powers that were almost equal to his, almost. Sure, she had magic that almost put his to shame, almost. But none of that mattered. Loki was beyond angered; he was bordering the point of furious.

Perhaps that was the base of his snapping point.

It all went downhill from there. He spotted the two of them first, walking side by side like they had done that for ages. And yet, there was something hidden underneath the surface that any mortal would never be able to detect. Loki, luckily, was no such mortal pathetic human. He could feel their tension radiating from the pair miles away. It stuck between them like the sun beating down on a hot summer day, and it only grew as the taller one began to speak to the shorter in hushed tones. Loki couldn't make out what they were saying, but it seemed that the shorter, younger one didn't like what the older was saying at all. Loki stopped in his tracks, making a face at the duo a hundred or so feet ahead of them. Illyana froze by his side, cocking her head to one side and trying to match his face.

"They're brothers."

Loki raised an eyebrow and looked down at the young girl, "Now, how in the seven hells would you know that?"

She shrugged, running a hand through her hair. "I know the same way you do," she said. "We're not like everyone else." Silence ran between them for a few moments as more people emptied out into the streets of the town as daylight broke and the sun appeared behind the clouds.

Illyana gestured to the staff that Loki was still clutching in his hands as if he was afraid to let it out of his sight again. "You might want to put that away, don't want to attract more attention than you already are." Loki coughed, the trance broken and transformed the scepter into a small pocketknife. He slipped the knife in his pocket, nodding once before following the pair of brothers a few feet further.

There was something about this pair that intrigued him beyond belief, and yet, he couldn't quite put his finger on it. There was something yet to be understood. There was always something missing. It seemed Loki never had all of the pieces.

"What are you doing?" Illyana piped up from Loki's side once more, determined to follow him until the ends of the earth it seemed. Loki rolled his eyes again, not answering the little girl.

She voiced her question again and Loki yanked her by the arm into a nearby alleyway. Narrowing his eyes, he shook his head from side to side, debating on how to start this argument that he was bound to get himself into.

"Listen here, you little bitch. You do not have any idea of why I am here, you do not know the reasoning behind everything that I do, and that needs to stay that way. If you are going to insist at staying by my side, I must demand that you shut your little mutant mouth and do not try anything. I am not afraid to hurt you."

Illyana's eyes grew wide at first, but then a smirk crept back onto her young face. Loki released his tight grip on her forearm, ignoring whatever plot she was scheming up next. He wasn't afraid to keep to his word… He needed to show her somehow; he would have respect.

Her voice sounded again, but this time, it echoed throughout the mischief god's head. "You wouldn't hurt a little girl would you?" the innocent sounding utter infuriated Loki and he spun around on the spot, his eyes glaring to slits. He didn't hesitate when he lifted his left hand and slapped her clear across the face.

Illyana, not expecting that clearly, stumbled backwards in shock, not at the pain but the prospect that Loki would actually do something like that to her. It changed everything. The god himself shook his head, not caring what the girl thought about him now, and headed back into the town.

As the sun continued to rise over the clouds that threatened to block its rays, shadows darted around every which way, causing mayhem in the depths of Loki's mind. He had lost the brothers, the single source of some form of entertainment that he had somehow gotten himself into. He started walking in the direction that he had last seen the two brothers walk off in. Loki had gotten a solid fifty feet from where he had stopped last when something hit him metaphorically. Illyana had not followed him this time. He frowned, spinning around in a circle. Where was she?

Had she… chosen to leave him? Finally? Was his wish coming true for once?

After the questions had flown through his head, a pang was felt in the bottom of his stomach. He pushed it further down, not letting it bubble up and consume his emotions… never again would he allow that to happen. He couldn't feel guilty, not here and especially not now. He glanced around in a circle, his emotions running extremely high for someone not used to the fact.

He caught a glimpse of a black-haired woman leaning against a nearby building, simply glaring at him, but he chose to ignore her like the other mortals around. They were all too annoying to even think of. His mortal form was even annoying his own body; he couldn't even look at himself in the reflection of a window.

Loki walked a few more feet before he spotted them yet again. His eyes lit up with recognition and he crept closer to the two brothers, who had now stopped in the middle of the street. The god got a closer look at them as they were now facing him. The way that they acted and looked at each other almost reminded Loki of him and his own brother, Thor. Sadness washed over him quickly like a tidal wave before he had a chance to bring it down to a minimum yet again. No emotions. He couldn't miss his home; he wasn't allowed to. The older, taller one was handsomer than the other and looked rather experienced at what he was doing. While both of them had a crossbow slung over his back, the older one seemed to know how to use it better for it was sleeker and better looking than the younger's. The older one glanced over in Loki's direction, not noticing the god spying on them, and rubbed his beard cautiously. He bent over with slits for eyes and hissed something in the younger brother's ear. While it seemed that the older brother was obviously displeased with something the younger had done, the shorter, younger brother barely seemed fazed. _Perhaps it had always been like this their entire life_, Loki speculated. The younger brother ran a hand through his light brown hair, glancing up at his older brother almost lovingly and admiringly. Sure, it seemed like they had their differences but the younger brother certainly looked up to the older through whatever, that much was certain. Something had to be done. Loki needed more information.

He slowly stood up, inching closer and closer to where the brothers were standing, but he didn't get very far.

Loki heard a click and then something pressing against the back of his head. He froze in his spot, not wanting to make any sudden movements. He wasn't sure who this stranger was, nor what the weapon against him was. He couldn't take any chances.

"Don't move another step, Norse god," came the hiss in his ear. Loki shut his eyes, trying to picture who the assaulter was before seeing their face. The voice was feminine, for one thing, with a hint of a Russian accent. From the way that the weapon was positioned against the back of his head, he could put together that this woman knew what she was doing, but she wasn't a professional. Not yet. She could be a criminal too. He popped open his eyes and spun around on the spot so that the mortal weapon was pointing directly at his forehead.

The woman narrowed her eyes, shaking her red hair from side to side. "I said no sudden movements."

"It seems that I have never been one for following rules," Loki smirked, tilting his head to one side. "Might I get the pleasure of your name?"

"No."

Loki chuckled, "So I will never know to whom I am graced with the presence of?"

The red-headed woman narrowed her eyes, already displeased with the way that things were turning out. It seemed to Loki that she assumed that she would have the upper hand. Well, Loki still had some tricks up his sleeve… They didn't call him the god of mischief for nothing.

"It's not important," came her eventual answer.

Loki raised his eyebrows, "I beg to differ. It is very important, well to me it is."

"Loki, I'm not here to play games."

Loki didn't even bother to question how she knew his name anymore. It seemed his coming here wasn't as secret as he originally thought. There were too many people out there now, he realized that too late. "Then what are -" He didn't even get to finish his question.

"I'm here to eliminate you."

"Well now, if I am clearly going to die here and now, do you not think it would be courteous to know whose hands I am dying at?"

"No."

There was a moment of silence before a small sigh escaped her lips. It was so small that any normal mortal being would have missed it, but luckily Loki was no ordinary person, nor was he mortal. The advantages never ended.

The red-haired assaulter looked up yet again, locking eyes with Loki's green ones for the first time. "They call me the Black Widow."


	4. Chapter 4

The Black Widow.

Such an ominous name and yet, Loki couldn't help but enjoy the sound of it. It was much like him, devious and cunning with a hint of beauty lurking behind the surface. It was rather complicated to say the least, but that was the thing that he loved best. Complication. It left more room for mischief to be formed, and he hoped that some mischief would certainly be caused today.

Loki heaved a sigh, not exactly knowing what to say or do. There was nothing behind his assaulter's stare that betrayed what either he or she was thinking. They were both locked in a never ending glare that seemed to stop time.

"And what do I owe the pleasure Miss Widow?" Loki smirked, feeling rather ahead of the entire situation even with this mortal weapon pointed to his forehead.

The red-head rolled her eyes, "I told you. I'm here to eliminate you."

"And by that, I expect that you mean -"

"To kill you?" she gave her own little twisted smile. "Naturally."

Loki shifted his weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably. "I have done nothing wrong," he defended himself.

"Yet."

Loki raised an eyebrow. How the hell did everyone seem to know about him? He was a god, sure he should be worshipped, but this was madness indeed! He could not believe that people - mortals even - were already being sent to kill him.

"Might I inquire as to how you know who I am?" he questioned.

"You popped up on our records," she explained slowly, obviously acting annoyed at having to explain herself. "And they sent me to kill you."

Loki raised both of his eyebrows this time. "Who is 'they?'" he pondered aloud.

"That is classified."

"I am guessing so I am," Loki had to smirk. "Whoever you work for wants really hard for my coming here to stay a secret."

The Black Widow opened her mouth to say something and then closed it again when a device on her belt crackled and came to life. It was soft but still, Loki could hear what the device was saying as clear as day.

"Natasha," it said in a rough voice. "Agent Romanoff. Report. Have you taken in the alien?" The red-haired woman scrambled to shut the device off but it was too late. Loki had already heard and the damage was already done.

As his assaulter successfully turned the volume down on the device, she lowered the mortal weapon from Loki's head without thinking. Big mistake. He twisted her arm around and had her kneeling on the ground in front of him in less than an instant.

"You're Russian are you not?" Loki asked, clearly trying to intimidate the woman. "Natasha Romanoff. My father has spoken of the Romanov dynasty before, along with the Rasputins. Their Great War is one that many Asgardians have come to know."

Natasha looked up at him with narrowed eyes, refusing to let him win. "You're not a god," she hissed. "You're nothing more than an alien coming to the wrong planet, which is why I must dispose of you."

"That will not be necessary. I am not here to cause any harm."

She flipped over, grabbing Loki's arm and tossed him a few feet down the street. Before he had time to comprehend, she had her legs wrapped around his neck and flung him back down to the ground. She stood over him, pressing one black boot on his chest. "That's a load of bullshit and you know it," she said, more like she was trying to convince herself rather than Loki. Loki didn't seem to mind the sudden change of events; he was getting quality information out of her, and that was something neither of them would ever forget.

Loki opened his mouth to retort something when he caught a flash of blonde hair from the comer of his eye. He looked over to his left side, not trying to direct much attention to where he was looking. For there, hiding behind a bush with a sinister angelic look on her face, was Illyana. Loki supposed he hadn't seen the last of her after all.

Heaving a sigh, he directed his attention back to Natasha, not exactly sure where to go from here. He opened his mouth again, when something else hit him. He knew of the Romanov and Rasputin feud in Russia, one of the only Migardian tales that Odin would tell him that would keep the young mischief god's interest, and here standing in front of him was a clear Romanov. But over there... was a Rasputin. Suddenly, nothing felt like a coincidence anymore. Loki was trapped, doomed even... unless...

"Illyana!" he gave a shout. As suspected, Natasha's head whipped around to face where Illyana was hiding in the bushes. Loki took that distracted moment to slip away from under Natasha's grasp and scramble back to his feet. He managed to get a few feet away before Natasha's attention swung back to meet his.

He gave his signature smirk in the agent's direction as a slightly panicked look crossed her face for a split second before it disappeared again. "And that, my dear, is called always having a plan," he said cockily. "I must admit, having to be the god of mischief might have something to do with that."

Illyana inched closer to where the duo was standing in the middle of the street. The people had cleared out of the way a few minutes ago when the church bell had rung just as Natasha appeared, but Loki still felt out of place. He glanced down to where Illyana was creeping up on them fearlessly and shook his head once. "Get lost." He couldn't risk getting her involved in this, even though he already did by shouting her name. That was not a good move.

She didn't move. Typical.

Natasha's eyes flickered back and forth between Loki and Illyana for a few seconds, her mind running as to what to do. Loki narrowed his eyes, probing into the depths of her mind, trying to figure out what her next move would be. Before he had a chance to discover the information however, her left arm flung around to her back and grabbed a spare gun she had tucked in the back of her black suit. Loki flung himself to the ground a moment later. He glanced to his left as gunfire sounded above him, hoping to see Illyana doing the same. He couldn't afford for her to get killed because of him. He rolled to the side as the assassin directed her gunfire further down towards the ground to where he was lying not a second earlier.

"Run!" he shouted in Illyana's direction as he hopped back up to his feet, pulling the pocketknife out from his pocket. He tapped it once with his index finger, murmuring a simple shape shifting spell under his breath, and it transformed back into the familiar scepter. "Now, Miss Romanoff, what were you saying before?"

Another smirk crept up on the god's face, seemingly angering the assassin even more. "I will kill you, if it's the last thing that I do," she said.

"It just might be the last thing that you do, I would be careful with your wording."

Natasha shook her head, "I'd be careful with how you flaunt your magic. That's what drew me here, and it will continually bring harm to you unless you learn a simple thing called self-control."

"You all should be bowing to me! I know not who you are, but I am a god. The mortals should learn how to worship me."

Natasha gave a small smile, "You are so naïve. You think that you can just show up, out of the blue, and expect everyone to instantly claim that you are the one true god? That's absurd."

"Nay," Loki's face grew serious. "'Twas not my choice to come here, Agent Romanoff. I was sent as a punishment. I never wanted any harm, just to merely get through these fourteen moons on this wretched planet."

"It sure doesn't seem like that."

The black-haired god took a step backwards, pointing his scepter straight at the Russian assassin. "There are a lot of things that happen because of me, but this is not one of them. You came here all by yourself."

"I-"

Natasha was cut off by the sound of something whistling past both of their faces, faster than any stream of light that Loki could have conjured up. They swiveled both of their heads to the direction where the assault came from. "Oh shit," Natasha swore under her breath, but Loki was still rather confused.

There were two approaching shadows. One was slightly taller than the other, one had a leaner look than the other, but both of them were carrying a bow… and locked in that bow was a single arrow. Natasha ran backwards, trying to find some sort of cover, but Loki stayed where he was, not fazed at all by this prospect.

"A bit old-fashioned, do you not think?" he questioned loudly.

His response was another arrow being shot at him. Loki barely had time to duck before the arrow would have implanted into his head. He got to his feet quicker than the last time and shook his head from side to side. The dust cleared as the god got a better look at the duo approaching. He almost swore when he realized how much he recognized them. These weren't just any archers; these were the brothers from before! Yes indeed, everything was becoming way more intertwined and complicated than he had originally thought.

"Now that simply was not very nice," Loki picked up his scepter from where he had flung it to the ground and shot two streams of energy magic at them. They were thrown backwards easily. As the brothers scrambled effortlessly back to their feet, Loki cocked his head to one side. "Will you allow me the pleasure of introducing myself now?"

The older brother took a step forward, "We're not here for you. Move out of the way or be destroyed."

"You know," Loki continued, pretending to ponder the situation for a moment, "I would rather not. I have already been threatened way too many times today, what's another?"

The younger brother equaled his pace with the older, narrowing his eyes against the dust that was continually rising in the air. "You do not want to mess with us. No one messes with Hawk-"

"That's enough," scolded the older brother, obviously trying to cut the younger off before he said anything that he wasn't supposed to. He turned his direction back towards Loki, "It doesn't matter who we are you little bastard, now move."

Loki shrugged, taking a casual saunter off to the side, allowing room for the brothers to move towards Natasha. "Do what you want with her; I have only just met her."

The older brother nodded once, lowering his bow just a little. "Most appreciated," he sneered. "Runt, watch him." The younger brother rolled his eyes, hating the fact of always being second best, but headed over to stand by Loki anyway.

"Why do you take orders from him?" Loki raised an eyebrow, attempting to be kind at first to get some sort of information from this rascal. "You obviously dislike him."

The young archer shrugged, "He's my brother, whether I like it or not."

"I have a brother too, you know, but I enjoy playing tricks on him quite frequently. 'Tis the reason why I am here. Even now, I know that there is no such thing as going too far with a trick."

"Trickshot."

Loki nodded once, "Exactly."

The younger brother shook his head, "No, that's what my brother's called. Trickshot. And I'm Hawkeye. You seem pretty cool, but I don't trust you."

Loki chuckled once, keeping one eye on the older archer and where he was busy hunting Natasha down. "Not many people do."

"Those are our code names though," the younger one - Hawkeye - rambled on. "I'm Clint, really, and that's Barney."

"Pleasure," Loki drew out the word as thoughts ran through his mind. The intertwining pathways of all of these mortals were too confusing for him to think about. Barney and Clint were brothers, here to kill Natasha who was here to kill him, who was somehow in a feud with Illyana? Was that even close? He fell silent, standing to next to Clint, the boredom increasing with the sense of confusion.

"Runt!" Barney shouted from down the street. "Leave the emo be. He's harmless. The Widow is our priority."

Loki watched Clint go, a frown growing on his face. There was still something missing, something that he hadn't factored in yet. He looked around for Illyana but he couldn't make out the familiar blonde hair. She must have escaped when Barney and Clint showed up, at least he hoped that was what happened. He pulled out his scepter once more, getting tired of this entire situation, when another click sounded from behind his head.

"Oh for Odin's sake!" he shouted as he felt another cool weapon press against the back of his neck. "What could possibly happen now?"

"Drop the weapon or I'll drop you," came yet another hiss in his ear.

Loki didn't move, almost daring the new assaulter to fire at him. He was taking his chances but the probability of it actually doing any damage to him was minimal. He was so done with this planet and its rather annoying inhabitants. "And who the hell are you?" he demanded through clenched teeth.

There was no response, only the sound of the weapon pressing deeper into his skull. Loki twisted his head to one side, trying to get a better look at the new assailant. He didn't get very far.

All he could see before his vision went black was a single black spot covering one eye.


	5. Chapter 5

When Loki's eyes flew open, he wasn't exactly sure what he was seeing. The darkness that had consumed him earlier had disappeared, but the confusion was still rather prominent. His brain was a little fuzzy and he tried blinking a few times. Clouds and white spots kept showing through his vision no matter how many times he shook his head against the cold ground that he was laying on. He touched his head warily, not exactly sure how much damage his mortal body seemed to show. Pain filled his mind although his body was almost done healing itself. Oh, the benefits of being immortal… and a god…

The ground felt colder under his hands as he slowly came to, his vision finally clearing itself of the obstructions from before. His head pounded where someone must have hit him… Then, it all came rushing back to Loki like he never lost the memories to begin with. He sighed, struggling to sit up as he realized what had happened to him. It was that black-haired one-eyed wench. He knew it. He knew nothing of her, except that he was going to kill her for doing this to him. He lost everything thanks to her, and he wasn't sure if he was going to get anyone back. He wasn't sure whether to be ecstatic that he was finally alone again or annoyed, but he was furious. That was no ordinary blow the black-spotted wench gave him. That was a killing blow. She was yet another trained assassin, here to kill him. She meant to end his life without any other questions. If it was the last thing he did on this planet, he would find those people and get his life back.

He got to his feet slowly, cursing in Asgardian under his breath. Screw them all. "Send them all to hell," he hissed under his breath. He held his head in his hands for a moment before a loud cracking noise split the air. Loki lifted his head sharply, instantly craning his neck around to see where the strange noise had come from. He couldn't find a single thing out of the ordinary.

The sound came again, this time more frequent and even louder than before. He walked briskly in the direction where the sound was coming from, but he didn't get very far. A wall of fire appeared in front of him and he suppressed a groan, knowing exactly what he was going to see when he turned around. The god pivoted on his heel, narrowing his eyes as he was greeted with a smirk from his favorite person on Migard at the moment. Illyana.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

Loki rolled his eyes, "Welcome back sweetheart. I missed you terribly." He paused, grimacing at the pain still throbbing through his head. "I can see you've recovered," he added.

Illyana narrowed her eyes to match Loki's. "It still wasn't necessary to slap me. I had the idea that you didn't want me around."

"And yet here you are."

She added quickly, "A simple 'go away' would do."

Loki didn't even bother to respond; he simply lifted an eyebrow like it was the most careless thing in the world that he had just heard. In a way, it was. Illyana smirked in response, "Alright, maybe not."

"Well," Loki stammered, for lack of anything better to say. "I am glad that you are not dead."

Illyana made a face, responding with a simple, "Likewise."

Loki sighed, "As much as you constantly bother me, I would not want to see you perish."

"Well, isn't that a nice statement! See? It isn't impossible!"

"Oh shut it," Loki quipped. "I never asked for any of this. I just wanted a quiet residence here on Migard until my time was up."

Illyana chuckled, "Yeah, which usually doesn't happen here on Earth."

Loki looked over to where the annoying noises were still sounding. Illyana had let the fire burn back down to the ground, removing the wall between him and his escape. He could run and leave her behind at any point, but he almost found himself not exactly wanting to. It was a peculiar thing. "Technically, this is your entire fault," he smirked after a moment of silence, swiveling his head back to look her in the eyes.

"But we're being literal."

"Are you sure about that?" Loki questioned. "How do you know I'm not going to turn around and kill you at any moment?"

Illyana gave a small shrug, "Because you're not like the others."

"How so?"

She sat down on the ground, enjoying the solitude of being alone in the streets for now before the rest of the town awoke with the rising sun. Loki hadn't realized how long he had been out. The blonde mutant heaved in a deep breath before beginning her speech. "You're not from a rival family of mine, you're not a trained assassin or his kid brother, and you're not a threatening scary looking woman. I think I'm safe."

"I'm a god."

"And I'm a mutant," Illyana smiled. "You won't hurt me."

Loki sighed, echoing her techniques from before. "Perhaps not now," he said slowly, drawing out his words as if he was choosing each and every one of them. "Other than ruin my life, you have done nothing wrong."

"Yet."

There was always that interjection. Loki should have known it was coming and yet he did nothing to try and stop it. He had to smile; this little girl was certainly something else.

"So what happens now?" asked Illyana after Loki didn't respond to her quip.

He raised an eyebrow, looking down at the blonde girl in obvious disdain. "We forget that this ever happened," he responded.

"And what about me?" wailed Illyana, not liking his answer one bit. "I don't like living on the run."

Loki sighed, looking off into the distance as if that would give him the answers he needed. There were way too many questions unanswered. There were way too many answers that could never be solved. He needed a sign, anything to tell him whether he was doing the right thing.

"You can stay with me, I suppose," he said at last, "until I leave for Asgard but beyond that? I know not."

Illyana opened her mouth, her eyes shining bright with a new idea to be had. Loki already knew what it was though from the minute that the thought entered her brain. "Can -" she began but Loki didn't let her continue.

"Nay."

"You didn't even let me finish!"

"I know exactly what you were going to say."

Illyana gave a small smirk. She knew she was beat. "Amuse me," she commented anyway, wanting more than anything to keep the conversation going.

Loki coughed once, mimicking her smirk and her voice as he spoke, "Oh Loki, big strong and handsome god of mischief, will you ever come and save me from this hell?" Illyana slapped him on the arm although he barely felt a thing even with the ring on. Her glare matched one of a bear and Loki chuckled softly. "Spot on, was it not?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of 'big monster' but yours works too."

His smile faded from his face as her line replayed in his mind over and over again. His mouth refused to work for him as he tried to form a witty response, but nothing was coming. Was that what he truly was? A monster? His mind whirled, not even hearing if Illyana was saying anything else. It was all just a big mess again and he stumbled off to the side of the road, collapsing near where the noises were sounding earlier. He couldn't see, he couldn't focus… Nothing seemed to be working.

His heart hammered in his chest as voices sounded in his head. They weren't his own, but they weren't Illyana's either. This seemed to be all a figment of his imagination, and yet the realness of it all stuck with him. What was happening to him?

Loki broke out into a cold sweat as visions consumed his vision and everything else was blocked out.

He wasn't exactly sure what he was seeing, or rather what he should be seeing. There was a dark room, all of the lights out in the blackness except for a single red LED light shining from the ceiling. It gave the area an eerie feel to it and Loki was overcome with the chills even the sweat was still showing along the sides of his face. He reached out to touch the side of the dark room but found that he passed right through. These were visions of the past… But how did he get here?

Loki squinted his eyes, trying to make something out in this utter darkness. He froze in place as the figure facing him stood up, swishing its hair from side to side. Red hair spilled out of a ponytail and relaxed along the figure's shoulders. Suddenly, everything made much more sense. These weren't random visions, these were memories. Loki had unknowingly and unwillingly entered the head of the very same woman he had met earlier and was probably collapsed by… Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow. He hissed under his breath. He didn't want to be here, he needed to be back into reality. But for now, it seemed like he had no other real choice.

There was another figure in the room, its back facing Loki. He was itching to get around to see the figure's face to determine if he knew who it was. As long as he was here, he might as well make the most of it. He was going to collect information. However, his quickly thought up plan failed when he realized that he could not move around the room. Stationary. Damn it.

"It was an accident!" Natasha was in the process of shouting.

The person shook their head, chuckling all the while. "Accident? Is that what you call it? Romanova, it's called a failure. We don't accept failures here."

Loki realized after a moment that they were speaking in Russian, and yet… he could understand it perfectly. For the sake of the memory, he must be able to. He shook his head, not even bothering to comprehend anything anymore. This was all beyond his grasp now.

"I know," Natasha continued. "I've been told at least a thousand times."

"Then consider this your thousand and first time," the person sitting across from the red-haired assassin snapped. "I have your next mission."

Loki continued his wondering of who her mysterious higher being must be. For an assassin trained to be without fear, she definitely did not seem fearless around this person. Loki frowned as if trying to determine it from staring at the back of the person's head.

Natasha raised an eyebrow, "Back again? Don't I get a break?"

"You're the Black Widow. If it's too exhausting for you, maybe Belova should take over your place."

That seemed to get Natasha's attention. Her face morphed into something of udder and complete disgust at the mention of some name and she grabbed the file out of the mysterious person's hand. "What is it?" she questioned, looking down at the file in curiosity. She frowned, glancing back up at her so-called boss who still had not given her an answer. "Budapest?"

The memory went fuzzy and then blacked out. Loki shook his head, trying to make sense of it all, but he didn't find the time before he was thrown into another memory. He expected it to be another one of Natasha's, but to his great surprise, it was the younger archer's. What did he say his name was again… Clint? He shook his head, not bothering to remember. It wasn't important.

But if he was now in one of Clint's memories… that meant that both he and Natasha were close by to where Loki was probably collapsed on the street ground. Were they the causes of the odd noises? Loki didn't have much time to ponder the fact for Clint and his older brother - damn it all, was his name… Barney? - walked into Loki's vision.

Barney leaned down to Clint, patting him on the shoulder. "Now remember kid, you have to take your time shooting. You can't just speed throw it."

"I won't forget, I promise!" answered Clint, smiling genuinely up at Barney.

But Barney wasn't done with his rant. "The target is Natasha Romanoff," he continued on, striding side by side with his younger brother. "You can't mess this up Clint!"

"I won't!" Clint protested, his smile fading from his face as Barney brought up events from what Loki supposed was a first failure for the young kid. "I won't mess up. Not like last time."

Barney stopped in his tracks, not wishing to speak of what event it was anymore. Clint didn't look like he was complaining either. Chuckling, Barney pulled a small tourist map out of his back pocket and opened it in front of Clint and him.

He coughed once, "Alright baby brother. Budapest is right up ahead."

Clint took one look at it and the general direction of where the two archers were supposed to be heading. He took a deep breath, nudging Barney. "Beat you there!" And with that, he took off running towards where the city was. Barney rolled his eyes, having no choice to run after his little brother.

Loki walked more slowly, not exactly seeing who won the race but it did not matter. He stood directly behind the brothers as they stared up at the sign that Loki had originally seen earlier… or later. Time was very confusing in this sense.

"We made it," breathed Clint.

Barney wasn't in awe or anything, simply stood his ground and looked around. "Lay low," he stated, turning his head in a 360 move to make sure that no one was following them. "No one must know we're here."

Clint bobbed his head up and down once to make notice that he got the message. Together, the two archers entered the city, glancing around every which way. Barney was obviously more trained in this field more than Clint and it showed; no matter how hard they tried, they simply stuck out. The memory blurred once more and faded out to blackness.

Loki heaved a sigh, not really understanding much. His mind was still screwed up and he patiently waited for the darkness to mold back into reality where he would find himself slumped against a nearby building with Natasha and Clint inside. To his utter surprise, he found himself in the midst of one last memory. He blinked a few times, not sure who he would find himself attached to… unless…

Shit.

He caught sight of the last person whose memory he had entered, and he instantly suppressed a groan. It was the black-haired black-spotted wench. He hissed in distaste, but his blood ran cold as he realized that that meant she was also nearby. Damn her.

"Second job," she murmured under her breath, slinging a rifle over her shoulder. "I can't screw this up." She paused for a minute, chuckling to herself and shaking her head. "And my mom thought I would stay in that church." She made a face like she was disgusted which made Loki even more confused. What was even going on anymore?

She grinned to herself at the thought of whatever church she was talking about and looked around at the city below her. It took Loki a minute to realize that they were standing on a high cliff overlooking the city of Budapest where everyone else was meeting. Typical. She looked over her shoulder, obviously examining to find something to get down to the actual city with. She peered behind a tree, catching a glimpse of a car parked there. The wench gave a sinister smile, kneeling before the car and quickly hotwiring it before anyone returned for it. She threw her weapons in the back seat and hopped in the driver's seat.

Loki frowned. Now that he had a good look at the wench's actual face, she didn't look to be past a teenager. Did she even know how to drive? He sighed as she put the car into gear. Loki had never driven before either, only heard of what the mortals use to get around Migard… cars. He still thought riding horseback would be a lot easier. Sure enough, as the girl slammed her foot on the pedals within the car, the vehicle jerked into motion and sped off in the direction of the city. Loki floated along beside her, smirking in amusement as she continued cursing. It took her some time but slowly the wench got used to driving and somehow managed to arrive in the city in one piece. Even Loki wasn't sure how that happened and he had just watched the entire thing unfold.

She bolted out of the car as soon as she stopped within one of the city's side streets and left the car there without another word. She grabbed her weapons out from the back and tucked them into her clothing. "God hope I can find them," she mumbled to herself before setting off.

Loki's vision blurred and went black for the last time. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself leaning heavily against the building that he recognized. The strange popping noises sounded again, but Loki ignored them, trying to process everything that he had just learned. He sighed, rubbing his temples and stumbled back into the streets.

As he turned the corner, he saw, to his surprise, that mortals lined the corners and sides of every street with the mortal cars zooming down the middle. Loki jumped out of the way in shock. When did it get so busy? He tried to find his way back to where his apartment was, or even any familiar store, but there was nothing. He took a look at his mortal form in a window nearby and let out a little groan of disgust. There were way too many things wrong with this general picture. Anger built up inside of him and he punched the window in udder disgust. He didn't care anymore how much attention he was drawing to himself; there was only he now. Loki watched as the glass from the window shattered under his touch and he threw his hands up in the air.

Could this day get any better?

He looked to his right and saw the back of the two archer brothers huddling away from him into a crowd. He looked to his left and saw a flash of red hair. If he looked up or back, he would be sure to see that familiar black-spotted face. This was all becoming too much.

He fell to his knees, crying out, "Does Migard hold any promises? Father, why are you doing this to me?"

It was all he could do to watch as people continued to stare at him. That is, until the sirens blared.


	6. Chapter 6

Loki wasn't exactly sure what the sirens meant at first, not accustomed to the Migardian ways yet. Rage clearly showed on his face and he didn't bother to glance around for he knew what he saw would be the same. He was becoming more and more alone as time passed. And nothing he could ever wish to say or do can change that simple fact.

The silence that the god of mischief had lapsed into was broken moments later when the sirens that had seemed so far off in the distance before approached the crowd quickly. Loki barely noticed all of the people standing around him. His mind was still reeling from all of the flashbacks that he had involuntarily thrown himself into. His vision wasn't exactly completely cleared of the spots and dots from the blackness in between the various memories, and those alone made his entire body pound with frustration. This had never happened to him before, why now?

A pair of black boots appeared at the edge of his hazy vision, tapping restlessly on the ground in front of Loki. He spit at the feet as he struggled to lift his head up. This was getting worse by the second. Loki couldn't even find the words to say if he wanted to say anything at all. He sighed, finally dizzily sitting up and staring at the strange looking mortal in the eyes. He was wearing a black uniform of sorts with all fancy badges and pins, almost like he was proud of being who he was. Loki squinted at the weird hat that he sported on his head and shook his head, not bothering to attempt to understand it at all.

"Uh sir," came the alienated voice from the uniformed man. "I am afraid that you are causing a disruption."

Loki turned his head slowly around in a circle, taking in all of the mortals crowding around him, anxious to see the crazy man on the streets of Budapest. Typical. He rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to the official-looking man addressing him. "Who are you mortals telling me what I can and cannot do?" he questioned rather loudly. He darted his eyes to the right and to the left, trying to see something somewhat familiar in this sight of random Migardians. His space was closing in on him quickly and he merely needed something. He struggled to stand, not looking the oddly dressed man in the eyes anymore, he didn't care how unfocused he looked. He leaned his body against the building for support.

Loki closed his eyes for a moment, regaining his senses, and popped them open again, instantly latching on a certain pair of brothers wandering on the edge of the crowd. He met eyes with the younger brother, still clutching tightly on his bow, and gave a slight nod. Clint Barton half raised a hand in greeting before Barney pulled him away anxiously.

The mortal who insisted on addressing him roughly shoved some sort of metal shaped identification in Loki's face, causing him to snap his glare up at him. "I am Sergeant Frederick of the Budapest Police Force," he said sharply. "And I command you to stand down."

Loki narrowed his eyes, "And I am Loki of Asgard and I am above all of you!" He heard another click, this time recognizing the familiar sound of the preparation of the mortal weapon that everyone so commonly used, and whipped around on the spot. He spotted another wearing the same uniform as Sergeant Frederick and grabbed the policeman by the neck. Without another thought, he flung him against the side of the building and watched as he slumped down to the ground, dazed but still alive.

In an instant, he was surrounded.

All of Sergeant Frederick's forces had emerged from seemingly nowhere and had all of their mortal weapons trained directly on Loki. Loki knew that the weapons themselves wouldn't do much, but he wasn't about to burst any of their bubbles. He didn't exactly have a plan, but he was willing to play along with the fact that they had the upper control.

"Sir," Frederick demanded, his voice growing louder over the screams of the crowd. "I believe that you are under the influence -"

He never finished his sentence, nor did Loki ever have to come up with a plan although looking back, he wish he had. It would have saved him from future troubles.

"No, it's fine, he's with me," came a very different style of voice from behind the crowd of officers and civilians. All heads, including Loki's, spun around to see who the newcomer was.

Loki swore under his breath. Of all of the people to save him, why did it have to be her? He debated whether he should go with her or not internally, eventually deciding against it. These pathetic police mortal weapons were useless against the god; however she was combated well physically, almost meeting Loki's techniques.

He shook his head openly, "I am most certainly not."

No one was paying attention to him anymore anyway. Natasha Romanoff sauntered into the center of the crowd, giving her signature tiny smirk. Loki edged away from her as quickly as he could, but she still managed to latch onto his arm like a leech. She tightened her grip, sending an internal unspoken message, and started to pull him in the opposite direction as the police were.

"Don't worry," Natasha gave a tiny trill of forced laughter. "He's just a little drunk."

Loki's senses grew restless again as Sergeant Frederick stopped to make sure that Natasha had a handle on things. He let himself fade out from the conversation, his mind darting every which way. It was going to be a long night, and he had only been on Migard six moons. Almost halfway through this endless punishment, this was torture. A faraway satisfying click sounded above him, but not too close and he peered in the distance to see the black-haired wench from before busying herself to set up a rifle. He swore under his breath, squinting his eyes further to see where she was setting it up. He still never got a name out of her. He breathed out a sigh of relief as he realized that she wasn't pointing the mortal weapon at him… but at a familiar pair of brothers. They hadn't noticed a thing, walking quickly away from the crowd that was now dispersing, but he could tell that Barney was busy whispering something feverishly in Clint's ear. Something that was both serious and completely… wrong. Something was wrong. Something was missing.

Natasha continued to pull Loki away in the complete opposite direction from where Clint and Barney were heading, but a quick glance over his shoulder told otherwise. He was still distracted by everything occurring around him. "Unhand me mortal," he demanded, trying to shake her off. It didn't work as easily as he originally would have thought. Another glance over the shoulder and his suspicions were confirmed. Not only had Barney and Clint doubled back and were now following them, it also meant that the black-haired wench had also figured something out.

As soon as they were out of ear-reach from the rest of the society wandering the streets, Natasha's grip tightened even further. All thoughts of telling Natasha that she was being followed flew from Loki's mind. Let her get what she deserves. Perhaps he would even have the chance to escape when she was distracted… The pleasurable thoughts filled his mind gladly, and a smirk crept up on his face. This could work out perfectly to his advantage.

"Sir," Natasha lowered her voice. "I suggest you come with me right now."

Another quick glimpse over the shoulder. The brothers were gone. Loki shook his head, half not wanting to know where they were hiding. Whether they were, they were about to take down his captor and that was all that mattered. "Oh I am 'sir' now?" Loki smirked, the smile seemingly stuck on his face. "That has changed from before has it not?" He shook his head. "Either way, I cannot be commanded."

"Voice down."

Loki rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed by this entire situation. He shut his eyes as Natasha stopped in her tracks. He hoped she didn't figure out that something was amiss; that could just be tragic. He listened to his surroundings, trying to pick up key thoughts and phrases from the people involved in this little scheme. He heard a deep breath being taken - probably from Barney, the hum of a string being pulled back on a bow - most definitely Clint, and…

"DAMN IT ALL."

That was the wench. Loki would recognize her voice anywhere. He froze in his tracks as the firing of her mortal weapons rained down upon Barney and Clint, right above their heads. Loki frowned, turning around at the same time as Natasha did. If she didn't know something was awry before, she knew now.

He saw multiple things happen at once. He saw the black-haired spotted-eye assassin duck down behind the roof of the building she was perched on; however she wasn't quick enough for he also spotted the movement of Clint's head as he spun around to aim his arrow in the assassin's direction. He let an arrow lose, passing right over her head. At the same time, Natasha's eyes widened as she heard the sounds of the mortal weapons directly behind the two of them. And during this, Loki found a window of opportunity to slip away from the chaos.

He headed down the street away from the crowd without a single glance back over his shoulder. He knew someone would probably try and follow him so he made his path difficult. He wasn't actually certain where his final destination would be; all he knew was that he needed to get away from all of this. The noises of the mortal weapons continued between whoever was left, but Loki didn't care anymore. He had gotten away for now and that was all that mattered.

Loki managed to find an empty store on one of the abandoned side streets of Budapest. He ducked inside the main door, shuffling around inside as the noises grew louder and louder. He stepped on top of broken glass from where the window seemed to be broken in ages ago and shook his head. What do mortals even do on this planet? He heaved a sigh, finding a mirror set up in the middle of the shop. He stared at his reflection for a few minutes, wishing that he had the strength and power to leave this wretched place. His mortal form was so revolting and yet many found it very attractive. Either way, he just wanted to be home in Asgard, away from all of this. He didn't get his wish quickly, for he caught sight of another reflection appearing in the mirror.

"Oh for Odin's sake," he said as he caught sight of her again. "Is it too much to ask to leave me alone?"

"Very," Natasha smirked, pointing a smaller version of the mortal weapon that everyone used at his forehead. She didn't get what she wanted.

The glass tinkered on the floor as two more people entered the store, one after the other. Barney pushed Clint in first, stumbling on the younger brother's feet as they both stopped in their tracks, noticing the other two occupants of the room. "Shit," Barney swore under his breath as no one moved.

And then Natasha darted out of the front door of the store before anyone could see where she went. Clint shook his head, upset with himself for missing his target, and Barney glared at Loki all the same, the distrust clearly showing on his face. Loki nodded awkwardly, sauntering towards the back door of the building slowly.

"I thought you were going to help us," Clint directed his statement towards the god of mischief.

Loki chuckled, "Kid, I help no one but myself. Always keep that in mind." He stopped his words before more could come tumbling out from his lips as he felt that familiar cold feel against the back of his head. Another mortal weapon, most likely the same person. "What even is that weapon you so love using against me Miss Romanoff?" Loki said with a hint of humor in his tone.

"It's called a gun and now I'm going to kill you with it," Natasha's cold voice was his only response. She would have shot Loki if it wasn't for the glass to the front of the window of the shop shattering in midair and collapsing in on the store. Natasha leapt up, clearly surprised, in the air and dropped her gun on the ground in pure shock. Loki didn't waste a moment as he knelt down, picking up the gun and firing it at the ceiling to earn everyone's attention. Barney and Clint were still huddled by the door, not exactly wanting to take another shot at Natasha.

"What the-?" Natasha's cry of outrage came when she heard Loki firing the gun at the ceiling. She let her right fist sail in towards Loki's chest, but he deflected it easily with a single swipe of his opposite hand. Barney instantly pulled Clint to his feet and placed his younger brother behind him defensively.

Loki closed his eyes, letting his magic consume him as he concentrated. When he opened his eyes again, laughing, he found multiples of himself surrounding the trio in a circle. Perfect. This was turning out exactly how he wanted it to go.

"Let me go stupid!" protested Natasha, thrusting her elbow outwards into Loki's stomach. Or what she perceived to be the real Loki's stomach. To her surprise, her elbow passed right through where Loki's stomach should have been, would it be the real Loki, and she almost fell to the ground, swearing, from the unexpected twist.

All of the Loki holograms spoke at once, sending an eerie feel through the abandoned store. "Now that I have your attention, allow me to shed some light on this situation."

Clint reacted the fastest, something Loki wasn't expecting, and reached into his furthest back pocket for his small handgun, or whatever it was called. Before any of the Loki's could do a thing, he had it out and pointed right at Natasha. But Loki was prepared for something like this to happen. All of the holograms, including the real Loki, picked up their scepters and pointed them directly at the younger archer. A beam of magic was shot from the scepters at the same time that Clint pulled the trigger on his own gun. Both Clint and Natasha were sent reeling back.

"Go to hell!" Natasha snapped, the bullet passing clean through her right shoulder. As Clint struggled to his feet once more from the magic blast, Natasha pulled out a knife and threw it at the younger archer. He instantly ducked to the floor once more, rolling over to pick up where he had thrown the gun. Natasha grabbed a second knife and repeated the actions, still missing her mark. But the distraction was enough for now. Loki's magic faded and the holograms dissolved, giving Natasha an excuse to cover her wound and dart for the exit. But Loki was still ready for a move like that.

He held his scepter against the back of her neck, hissing, "Do not move."

In an instant, Barney grabbed Clint's fallen handgun and fired two shots, one for Loki and one for Natasha. They both dropped to the ground at the sound of the firing, Natasha rolling behind a wall and speaking feverishly into her headpiece. Loki could only pick up a line - "You didn't tell me there was a third party involved! All I was told was to take the alien down, not this bullshit!" - but it was enough. Loki spun around, clearly pissed and faced the two brothers.

"Sorry Loki," Clint shrugged, aiming an arrow at the wall where Natasha was hiding. "But this is my mission." Clint inched closer to the wall, past Loki, leaving Barney behind to catch Natasha off guard.

Barney steadily continued to aim his gun at Loki, his eyes narrowing deeper and deeper as each second ticked by. "I warned you not to get in our way freak," he growled, his finger slowly pulling back the trigger.

"And I warned you not to disobey gods," came Loki's response as he leapt up in the air and thrust the scepter down hard. He struck hard and true and he struck flesh. Flesh of an archer's stomach who cried out as contact was made. Flesh of a man who wouldn't be alive in five minutes.


	7. Chapter 7

Death.

Death had always been something so foreign to Loki, something that he would not have to worry about for a very long time. There was only one way that he could be killed, and he wasn't planning on sharing his secret anytime soon. Death itself was a complicated subject within itself, not to mention to an immortal god. He never really grasped the concept of a person never returning to the land of the living, forever doomed to be trapped in hell or wherever their souls ended up. That is, until this very moment.

Loki had not meant to kill Barney Barton. He honestly didn't. Barney was not innocent, but he had only been in the way, meaning to help his younger brother out on a mission. In truth, he should not have even been there in the first place. That would have made things so much easier for both the assassins and Loki. Heaving a sigh, Loki yanked his scepter out reluctantly, not exactly proud of what he just did. Blood poured out of the wound that the god of mischief had impaled in the older archer's stomach and Loki took a step back.

His mind reeled with what to do with himself now. He had just ended a man's life forever, and that was something he would never forget. Ever. Coincidentally, neither would Clint. Standing there, staring at his bloody work, he managed to stand upright somehow. He had to look strong like he had done this before, even though it was all a lie. But he was the god of mischief; he could definitely pull this off with no problem. He shut his eyes, taking in a few deep breaths and trying to focus on what he should be feeling. Certainly not shame and guilt, that was for sure.

For some reason, Loki pushed the shameful thoughts aside, popping open his eyes. There were some things he knew he had to do on his own, and this was one of them. Another internal battle to conquer for another day, he wasn't too concerned right at that moment. He watched with a somewhat sincere look of satisfaction crossing his face, as Barney fell to the ground with a rather loud grunt of pain. Loki narrowed his eyes, hiding the wince that was attempting to overthrow his system of calmness. That simply could not happen.

The thing that killed him the most on the inside was the scream of anguish that Clint let out. This was his brother after all, and family took top priority over everything else. That much was certain in the young archer's life; anyone with eyes could see that. "BARN!" Clint shouted, abandoning his post by Natasha and her wall and tearing across the room to reach his brother. He collapsed on the ground beside his dying brother and grabbed him in his arms.

Loki slowly backed away, not wanting to get in the middle of this even though he already had. He reached the wall that Natasha was hiding behind and tried to sneak past her, but there was no hope for the god anymore. He was more doomed than when he first appeared on this planet.

"I need an evac team," Natasha was hushing into some device stuck in her left ear. "There's a gunfight here and I -" She was cut off by the person to whom she was speaking to and Loki could see her through the shadows make an annoyed face. "What do you mean?" There was another pause and Natasha's expression grew even darker if that was at all possible. Loki frowned, taking a closer look to see what she was talking about as she let out a string of words in a language Loki didn't understand. What was it again? Russian?

While he was distracted, however, Clint found that moment to gather his energy and grab his small mortal gun from his side pocket. He lifted it up, with tears forming in his eyes, and shot at Loki twice. The first bullet just missed the god's head by a few inches and when he turned to face where the younger archer was firing, the second bullet lodged itself in Loki's lower shoulder. He hissed with pain, cursing at the fact that he was still wearing the ring, and quickly yanked the bullet out. Both Loki and Clint watched as the wound slowly healed itself, the pain showing clearly on the god's face. Damn that ring. The archer's expression grew more in shock until the mysterious gun that had shot the window glass down earlier reappeared. There was a whistle of the mortal weapon being fired and then Clint was down on the ground again, only not by choice this time. The younger archer was clutching his foot as blood poured out of both archers' wounds, one more fatal than the other.

"Owe you bitch!" he shouted to no one in particular even though Loki had figured out exactly who it was. It was the devil herself, that black-haired one-eyed mercenary. Loki took another step towards the two brothers. Clint was half-holding his older brother as he died in his arms and trying to wrap some sort of material around the wound in his foot. Loki picked up the small gun from where Barney had involuntarily thrown it across the room and pointed it at Clint's head. He had already killed one brother, why not another? He clicked the mortal weapon back, not exactly sure how to use it, and looked the younger archer square in the eyes.

Loki shook his head, "I told you not to disobey me. The both of you." He trailed off, fully prepared to shoot Clint dead, when more shooting from the mercenary distracted them all. Loki saw his opportunity and took it, slipping away from the two brothers when he had the chance. He scooted past Natasha, hoping she wouldn't see him leave, and headed out the door. He looked around in a full circle, trying to spot the mysterious black-haired assassin that had tried to kill him earlier. Surprisingly, she wasn't firing at him now… perhaps she wasn't here for him after all. He finally found her on top of a nearby building, her gun perfectly aimed at the store window, able to see everything from a good distance. She lowered her gun when she spied Loki, and the god gave a tiny nod of appreciation before running off away from whatever had just happened. He still never knew her name.

He never turned back around to see what had happened, but the sounds were enough to fill him in. There was a muffled conversation as Loki was darting away that he strained to hear between the two brothers, as if Barney was trying to share some last words with Clint. The mercenary, most likely there to kill the archers, wasn't having any of it, or so it seemed. Loki heard the gun whistle once more and then another anguished cry from Clint as Loki presumed the mortal weapon struck its mark. Barney Barton was finally dead.

"Hands up, Loki," came a closer cry from behind him and he heard yet another mortal gun cock behind his head. "The game ends here."

Loki barely had time to open his mouth before, out of the corner of his eye; he spotted Clint tearing out of the store and into the abandoned street. He took a quick scan around him, searching for the mercenary, and firing two quick arrows in her direction. None landed on their mark, but it did give Loki yet another distraction. Unfortunately, Natasha was catching on to the god's plans and grabbed his arm at the last minute as he tried to slip away yet again.

"Shit," Natasha hissed, yanking the god into the shadows as the younger archer bellowed again. He was clearly upset, and for good reason. Loki started to feel half bad for the kid; now, he wished he had killed him when he had the chance.

Clint shook his bow in the air and that was the last Loki saw of him for the time being before he was pulled roughly away from the scene. Apparently, Natasha had greater things to think about than getting killed. It wasn't her family, it wasn't her partner, so why should she care? Loki held his hands up in the air slowly, giving into Natasha for now, not bothering to explain why the mortal weapons would do nothing for him. "COWARD!" came Clint's shout.

Loki couldn't help but peer around the corner, anxious to see how the young archer was holding up. The answer was simple: not well at all. He had fallen to his knees and was crawling back into the store, muttering things under his breath while tears streamed down his face. It was certainly not his day. Turning back to Natasha, she still had her gun pointed at Loki's face and he had to chuckle.

"Loki, who even are you?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

He had to smirk. This was going to be a fun conversation indeed. "I am Loki, King of Asgard," he flourished his name a bit, giving his signature smile. "But I thought you already knew that."

"King? Asgard?" Natasha's facial expressions morphed into one of confusion and utter looseness. "You're a dude who fell out of the sky." She pursed her lips together.

As Clint stalked past the alleyway, obviously looking for either Natasha or the black-haired mercenary, Natasha swore under her breath once more. "Ah shit."

Loki raised an eyebrow, still not having responded to any of her questions. If there was such a thing as perfect timing, Clint had it…

"You're coming with me."

Loki shook his head, "I said it before and I am saying it again. I am not going anywhere with you."

"Oh yes, yes you are," Natasha smirked, holding her gun face level again to the god. She peered outside the alleyway and took a step outside. Instantly, an arrow was fired in her direction. She shut her eyes and poked her head back inside the darkness of the shadows that they were consumed in. Loki sighed, not wishing to get in another fight with mortal weapons. He would always win… Natasha yanked out one of her many guns and returned fire at Clint. The back and forth motions continued for several minutes, even though it felt like an eternity to Loki, until finally, Natasha pulled Loki down the opposite direction of the alleyway and into a rather large mansion in the city.

"Are we allowed in?" Loki grinned, staring at the vastness of the place. Now this was more like it, this seemed more like Asgard than anything else he could have dreamed up in this place. He heaved a sigh, staring at Natasha's side profile until she answered.

She made a face in response and Loki let out a little chuckle. Of course. As the duo entered the mansion from the side door, to which Loki still had no idea how Natasha knew about it, Natasha immediately pulled Loki into a side room, slamming his head against the wall of the room.

"Do you mind?" he snapped, shaking his head from side to side, the throbbing coursing through his entire body. Once again, Natasha didn't answer. She pulled open a set of doors within the room and pulled out a black and white suit, tossing it in Loki's direction.

"It's called a tuxedo, now put it on."

Loki raised an eyebrow, "I mean, I would be more than happy to strip down in front of you, but I cannot be commanded in such a way."

"If you prefer your dripping wet t-shirt," she said, "fine by me."

Loki shrugged, staring at the weird looking black and white suit. In all honesty, he didn't mind dressing up like this; he just wanted to be sure that he was doing the right thing… or the wrong thing for that matter. He watched as Natasha took off her topcoat to reveal a simple navy blue cocktail dress hidden underneath.

"You're getting me into this party."

Loki rolled his eyes, using simple magic to exchange the clothes he had on his back with the suit that Natasha had given him. "And why would I help you?"

Natasha rolled her eyes, clearly exasperated by this entire sequence of events. Loki was still confused generally, but he wasn't about to let anyone know. Some secrets were better to stay hidden, some things needed to be kept to him, and sometimes that was all it took.

"Because it will keep you alive, your majesty."


	8. Chapter 8

Your Majesty.

Loki could get used to the sound of that. Heaving a sigh, he ran his hands through his hair, silently admiring his new - what did Natasha call it? - tuxedo. He honestly had no idea what to do now. There were so many options in which he wasn't exactly sure how the outcome could be, but he couldn't risk it. His magic would be able to get him out of this situation, but he wasn't sure for how long. Natasha and whoever she was working for would be able to find him without any problems… And he did not want to be the cause of any more issues. The safest way, and, in turn, the way that would benefit him the most, was to stay by her side, at least for now. He wasn't exactly keen on doing her bidding; the assassin would stab him in the back without a second glance. _As long as it wasn't with a golden dagger_, Loki thought to himself, giving a tiny smirk, not able to help himself. He may not be the true king of Asgard yet, but one day, he would be. He would make sure of it.

Yet, even though he already made up his mind about what he was planning on doing with Natasha and helping her escape from the grief-stricken Clint, Loki had to tease the assassin anyway. "And what would happen if I said nay?" Loki's previous smirk grew bigger as he looked up into her eyes.

Natasha narrowed her eyes in response, and Loki instantly took a step backwards. He wouldn't put it past her to reach up and slap him or worse. He mentally prepared himself, but it never came. Natasha merely sighed exasperatedly, hurling an annoyed glance in the god's direction. He didn't take notice.

"Seriously?" Natasha placed her hands on her hips with an annoyed expression written all over her face. "You - just I've had a long day and you are not helping. Just get this done and you're free."

That was a lie. Loki could read right through her. She came here from her boss to find him, and now she was saying that she would just let him go. That was just a load of lies spewing from the spy's mouth, one coming out right after the other. While he was staying by her side for now, Loki wasn't sure how much more he could take. He frowned, the crease on his forehead growing more prominent the more that Natasha talked, and shrugged his shoulders.

Natasha opened the door to the tiny side room that they were cramped into, poking her head into the hallway. Loki could sense her anxiousness from miles away; it was radiating from every breath that she took in, flowing out from the sweat on her cheeks, pouring out from the lies she spoke from her lips. There was no hiding it. And he knew the reason for that feeling. He had never been in a situation as desperate as that, no one knew how to kill him after all, but he could sympathize. Not that he wanted to, of course. She had never been this close to death before, Loki could read from the expressions on her face, and she was scared. She would never admit it, but the anger and rage that came from Clint as he tried his hardest to fulfill his mission of eliminating her terrified her to the point of no end.

"I know you are here to kill me," Loki said out of nowhere. He needed something to say to ease the tension from the Black Widow's mind, and this was the first topic that appeared in his head. It was always about him, even until the end. "But my question is simple. Why?"

Natasha chose to ignore the god, her hand twitching as she held the door open to look for the younger archer approaching. He was obviously here, he wasn't stupid, but the real question was where. She turned around, grabbing Loki's arm once more, and pulling him out the door. Loki knew that she would gladly put his life on the line way before her own, and he wouldn't expect any less. He would do the same. That was just the way spies and untrustworthy gods worked, he supposed. He chuckled, not exactly protesting the way Natasha was taking control, and let himself be yanked into the main hallway of the mansion that they had somehow got themselves into.

"Just act natural," Natasha whispered in his ear, snaking her hand down his arm to grip his hand tightly. Loki flinched at her touch but gave her credit; she knew what she was doing. In order to pass any of this off, they had to look like they didn't hate each other. "If that is possible for your kind," she added as an afterthought.

"I was doing just fine until you people showed up and ruined my life."

Loki had to throw that back in her face. He absolutely loved making people feel guilty; they would usually succumb to his will after his brief moment of pure emotional experiences. He made a face in mockery to equal her own of utter disgust and turned away from the assassin. As they emerged around the corner, Loki was faced with the most mortals that he had ever seen in his entire life. His voice choked in his throat, and he felt Natasha's eyes burning on his cheek. She was obviously waiting to see how well he could control his reactions, and he even surprised himself. He looked like a mortal and now he was acting like one too. How… unusual… and ironic. As Natasha didn't respond, Loki hauled another sigh out of his system.

"What do you know about my people anyway?" he questioned aloud.

Natasha gave a small little shrug, "Well, I didn't know you could clone yourself. You have a jump on me for that." She smirked to herself as did Loki. They really weren't that different from one another.

"That's only me darling," he lowered his voice as they continued their casual walk towards the bar in the center of the mansion, pushing through the crowd of mortal people to get there. Loki felt self-conscious and squeamish on the inside, but he refused to let it show.

They each grabbed a drink that was left on the bar, sipping it quietly, and waiting for the end to come. Loki wasn't sure what Natasha's play was, but it couldn't be pretty. It never seemed to be. Sure enough, a familiar face pushed through the throng of mortals and stood directly behind Natasha. Loki didn't even have time to warn his companion when Clint Barton pressed the barrel of his gun against the small of Natasha's back.

"Natalia Romanova," he hissed under his breath, not wanting to attract anyone else's attention. "Make any sudden movements and you're dead."

Loki turned his head away, not wanting to be a part of this, and fiddled with the golden ring on his finger. He had to escape somehow, maybe this was his chance. He didn't move right away as Natasha chuckled, choosing to ignore Clint's words and take another sip of her drink.

"What are you going to do?" she mocked out the archer. "You're really going to kill me here in front of everyone? What did they teach you where you came from?"

But Clint wasn't having any of it. He merely pressed his gun in deeper to Natasha's side, Loki could hear her sharp intake of breath, and squinted his eyes tightly together. "Outside. Now."

"I have a date," Natasha smirked, glancing over in Loki's direction. "I would hate to be rude."

Clint ignored her, clicking back the trigger to his gun. Loki rolled his eyes, making a face. "I don't care," snapped the young archer. "Leave him, let's go."

A crashing noise sounded from behind the unlucky trio, and Loki flinched involuntarily. He clutched the edge of the counter with one hand and watched as smoke poured in from a hole in the ceiling where something clearly exploded. Firing shots from the mortal guns sounded as a person emerged from the smoke, shooting at the ceiling to earn everyone's attention. The crowd gathering in the mansion screamed and all ran to the exit at the same time, giving the other assassins a quick getaway. Clint glanced over his shoulder, swearing under his breath and firing at the appearing shadow. Loki squinted, having regained himself, trying to figure out who this newcomer was even though his inkling was slowly being confirmed.

Natasha smirked, slowly getting to her feet. "I think I'll have another drink first," she stated, taking another sip of her beverage. Clint and the newcomer continued to fire at each other from over the counter, giving Natasha a chance to quickly and quietly slip away with a last quip. "Looks like your date is upset with you," she chuckled to herself, but she didn't get very far.

Loki sat there, mystified by the prospect that he wasn't being noticed and observed all of the shooting occurring while all of the mortals panicked out of the mansion. The mysterious person came into Loki's vision, and he suppressed a groan when his suspicions were confirmed. It was, of course, the black-eyed mercenary. She used Natasha's distraction to shoot Clint in the arm, sending him reeling backwards while yelling out in pain. Loki winced at the sound; that definitely sounded like it hurt. Clint lifted his uninjured arm and fired two quick shots from his handgun back at her. Natasha shook her head, pulling out a smaller handgun from her dress and launched a single bullet, planting itself in the archer's leg. Between the two injuries, he collapsed to the ground.

"Ladies. Gentlemen." Loki smirked, speaking up for the first time. "Please, this is not the time for such vulgarly."

Loki was expecting some response, but he was not anticipating for Natasha to spin around on the spot and shoot him square in the chest. He stumbled backwards, the bullet lodging exactly where his heart was located. To Natasha's great surprise, however, he merely reached down, plucked the bullet from his chest and tossed it on the ground. "I am curious," he smirked, watching the gunshot wound heal itself. "After killing me, what was your next step?"

Natasha's face grew darker in horror as she slowly backed away from them all and tore out into the streets. Loki made a face and ran after her, leaving behind the mercenary and the archer. He heard Natasha curse in Russian under her breath. While he wasn't quite sure what she was saying, the message was clear. Loki had shocked her once again; she had lost the upper hand and she panicked. Loki had her cornered down an alleyway in a matter of minutes.

"I am a god, my dear, or had you forgotten?" Loki called out to the red-haired assassin. "I am not as easy to kill as you would expect."

Natasha's only response was to spin around, shooting him with her handgun once more and running off towards the dead end of the alleyway. She was obviously looking for some escape, but whether she would find one or not was still a mystery to the both of them. Loki ducked to one side, the bullet missing his head by a mere inch, and he bolted after Natasha, catching up to her quickly with his enhanced Asgardian speed. He grabbed both of her wrists and slammed her head against the brick wall of the alleyway. Loki was done with playing games.

"Hey!" she shouted in protest, hoping that someone could hear her. Police sirens sounded from far away, probably finally reaching the mansion that the party was previously in. Loki shook his head, coughing once as Natasha elbowed him in the stomach. He didn't loosen his grip, merely shoving her once more and tightening his grasp on her wrists.

"The game ends here," he sneered, shaking his head.

Natasha shut her mouth, not saying a word. Perhaps he deserved it, perhaps not, but her decision had already been made. The revenge was already settling in.

Loki should have been paying more attention to his surroundings, but there was no warning as a sharp object smashed into the back of his head and everything went black once more.


	9. Chapter 9

Loki awoke with another massive headache for the second time in two days. He held his hand, moaning quietly and blinked a few times, trying his absolute hardest to maintain consciousness. Blackness consumed his vision for about a full long minute before his eyes adjusted to the full light of the alleyway that he was still in. He groaned, cursing under his breath, and struggled to stand. The sights in his vision, however, made him wish he stayed unconscious. He swore, this time in the Common Tongue, and held his hand against the side of the building to steady himself.

"What in Odin's name -" He broke off, not exactly seeing who was hiding in the shadows yet. He wanted to be sure that he could find the mercenary, the one who knocked him and left him this way. He held his head, memories continuing to flow back into his brain until he was back up to full speed once more.

There was a click of a gun and then a shadow emerged from the darkness. Loki squinted his eyes, instantly realizing why he didn't notice her before. She was dressed fully in black, her teenage face not exactly matching the rest of her body, and the leather suit she was wrapped in - eerily similar to the one Natasha was wearing earlier - showed no reflections, making it easy for her to blend in virtually anywhere. He let his eyes wander up to his face and one feature instantly jumped out at him. The big black spot covering one eye.

She pointed her gun directly at Loki's forehead and he had to chuckle, remembering how well firing the mortal weapon at him did for Natasha last time. "Who the hell even are you?" she hissed. Loki took a step back in surprise. After knocking him unconscious, almost killing him, twice and shooting at him countless times, she still didn't know who he was? That was almost - delightful.

"Calm yourself wench," Loki held his hands in the air, complying for the time while he could arrange for answers to be made. "You may not know me, but I know you mortal. You were the one who was trying to take down the two young gentlemen archers early, and the same woman who knocked me out. Twice now."

The mercenary rolled her eyes, the sarcasm dripping off of her tongue. "No, really? I think that one was pretty obvious."

"Your sarcasm deafens me, child."

"I'm not a child."

Loki raised an eyebrow, "You certainly look like one to me." He paused, heaving a deep breath before continuing, "Well, if you are not a child, then who are you?"

"They call me Domino, for obvious reasons, but whatever," the mercenary, Domino, made a face in response, "you still didn't answer my question."

Loki smirked, happy to know her name at last. Domino. There was something about that name that seemed so fitting for her. She just was - different. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"As to who I am," Loki spoke again. "I am merely an outcast, not unlike yourself." He was taking a stab in the dark at who Domino really was, but it couldn't hurt. He couldn't die, not by her mortal weapons, so he figured he might as well have a little fun.

But then came the voice from the other end of the alleyway…

"He's a god," spoke a tiny voice, almost inaudible. Fortunately - or unfortunately, Loki recognized it right away. He pivoted around on the spot, glaring into the darkness where his favorite person in the entire world was lurking, waiting to be found. She just didn't want to leave him alone, did she?

"Where in the name of the gods did you come from?" he demanded, folding his arms over his chest. Domino, clearly not expecting to see Loki's companion there, grabbed another gun from her belt and pointed it at the shadows.

Illyana sauntered out from the darkness, swaying her tiny hips from side to side as if she thought she owned the place. All eyes were on her when she spoke again, both glaring and curious. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, miss." She batted her blue eyes in Domino's direction before smirking at Loki. "I came from limbo."

Loki scrunched up his nose. What the hell was limbo? She was here the entire time… right? Or - how long had he been out exactly? Things weren't exactly adding up around here and it was time to set things straight. "Limbo?" he questioned aloud. "But -"

He never finished his sentence. A shocking jolt of energy was sent through his entire body, sending him sprawling on the ground. He looked up, sending a blast of magic from the palms of his heads at his new assaulter. He watched as he sent Natasha flying towards the open end of the alleyway.

"Not so fast," he smirked, getting to his feet, keeping one eye on Illyana and Domino. "Weren't you busy with your boyfriend anyway?"

Natasha narrowed her eyes, slowly stalking back towards the trio. Loki instantly noticed that she sported several new cuts across her face and a long gash down her right arm to add to the earlier bullet wound. Wherever Clint was, he clearly got the best of her.

"Who the hell are all of you?" Domino shouted, swinging her guns around as if she wasn't sure who to point it at next.

Natasha was quick to pull out her own handgun and shoot it at Loki. He instantly ducked to the ground, expecting some sort of move from her. She shook her head as he popped up behind her with a stupid grin plastered across his face. What he wasn't expecting, however, was for Domino to react so quickly. He felt the three bullets lodge into his back and he let out a loud groan of pain. He could feel his wounds attempting to heal around the bullets, and he wished more than anything that he had the time to get them out. That was going to kill in the morning. He heard a trill of laughter coming from Illyana's direction and he returned with a sharp glare.

"Okay," Domino pointed out. "Does anyone else think she's creepy beyond hell?"

Illyana looked up innocently at the mercenary, "I can get so much creepier, miss. Do you want me to?"

Domino shook her head almost instantly, causing Loki to chuckle under his breath despite the situation that they were all locked into. "I was just sent to kill the two guys," Domino protested, looking for a way out of this mess, "not to deal with all of your insanity!"

Loki held his hands in the air, watching through narrowed eyes as Illyana and Natasha locked eye contact for the first time since they arrived on the scene. He still didn't have the entire story yet, but he was determined to find out. He shook his head, "I am not harming anyone here. Do not try to kill me, 'tis quite difficult for one and not necessary for another. But you learned that Miss Romanoff, did you not?" He smirked in her direction even though she didn't seem to be paying close attention.

Illyana averted her gaze from Natasha's, turning back to Domino. "You see, miss, I'm not insane. I just don't have a soul."

"What?" Loki blurted out. Either this was all bullshit and she was a damn good liar under pressure, or Illyana had not told him the entire story about her mutant past before.

Illyana ignored his outburst. "My soul is in here." She produced a long silver sword glowing with some sort of energy from out of nowhere and gestured to it. "A soul sword."

"Okay then," Domino spoke slowly, her brow furrowing deeper and deeper. "Not killing the weird speaking dude god, but I think I'll have to deal with the creepy kid."

Natasha clicked back her gun, aiming it in Loki's direction. "Good," she stated, narrowing her eyes. "Because he's my kill."

Illyana let out another warble of laughter, grinning her signature smile for the group. "The odds won't be in your favor this time," she said darkly.

"What the fuck?" Domino exclaimed, shooting her gun at Illyana at the same time as Natasha shot at Loki. Illyana blinked once and all of the bullets in the alleyway froze in midair and dropped to the ground. "You're a mutant?"

Illyana smiled, "I guess that's what you could call me."

Natasha kept her gun pointed in Loki's direction, although for the first time, he seemed rather overwhelmed. He spun around, still dazed by Illyana's revelation, and held his ground, not moving to go anywhere despite the fact that it was a perfect opportunity to escape. All he would have to do was take out Natasha and slip away into the streets of Budapest. Simple. And yet, for some reason, he stayed. Illyana closed her eyes, summoning more magic into her sword, and blasted magic in Domino's direction. Domino instantly ducked down, hiding behind an open door.

"Anger issues much?" she shouted back at Illyana, letting the magic rush over her head.

Loki hesitated for a moment, making a face, when he heard the trigger of a gun being pulled back. He knew it was for him. Natasha didn't hesitate to empty the contents of her gun on Loki's back when she thought he wasn't expecting. He took off running, catching the first and last bullet in his back, adding to the other three. He froze as the gun ran out of bullets to hit him with, and she growled in frustration, taking out her knife.

Loki smirked, "Congratulations, you found my weakness. Small knives."

From the corner of his eye, he saw Domino's eyes dart up to the roof and then she was gone, scurrying down the alleyway. She had her eye on something, and with a jolt, Loki realized that it was probably Clint. He was still around? How big of an idiot were these people? That moment of distraction was a single moment too long. When he looked back towards Natasha and Illyana, they were both on him at once. He rotated his head from side to side, but it was no help. He managed to knock Natasha's knife away but there was no stopping the blast of magic that sent him reeling backwards. He got up with a glare, shaking his head from side to side.

"Again," he sighed. "I must ask why everyone is attacking me. I have done no harm!"

Illyana shrugged, giving him a small smirk. "You're fun Loki," she said with a smile. Loki didn't return the gesture, wincing from the now healed bullet holes in his back. Natasha, on the other hand, wasn't so enthusiastic.

She muttered under her breath something in her native language and tried to punch him in the shoulder. He swayed to the side, missing her punch clearly, and shook his head.

"You must calm yourself down, mortal," he said. "I am not doing any harm. I do not know what you think I do!"

"Loki," Natasha narrowed her eyes, "who even are you anyway? I don't believe you answered me earlier."

Illyana chose that time to speak up, actually helping out the person that she was sending death glares at earlier. "He's a God from another planet, Asgard is it?" she said, blinking her blue eyes innocuously.

"How do you -" Loki broke off. "You know what, never mind." Illyana let another chuckle explode from in between her lips.

"I know everything."


	10. Chapter 10

"I know everything."

Loki had heard it all before, rolling his eyes. He still hadn't decided whether Illyana was telling the truth or not, but at this point, confusion was beginning to set in. He shook his head. There was no possible way that she - His thoughts were interrupted as Natasha's thoughts went along the same path as his. She narrowed her eyes at the young mutant, almost hissing in disgust.

"Miss Rasputin, you -" Natasha began to snap, her anger clearly showing.

Illyana's rage was much more controlled; however she did it, Loki was impressed. "I'm sorry Miss Romanov," she said slowly, "but I do. I know whatever you know."

"Are you one of Xavier's?" Natasha spat in disgust. Whoever this Xavier character was, he and Natasha clearly didn't get along. Loki raised an eyebrow, questioning Natasha's train of thought.

Illyana shook her head, "Nope!"

"Just my luck," Natasha murmured under her breath. "I could have called him to pick you up. It seems he doesn't seem to care well for runaways."

Loki frowned, attempting to attach his scattered thoughts. From what he could tell, Xavier was some sort of teacher or guardian to mutants, but Illyana seemed to want nothing to do with them. For now. He spoke up, "Ah, so are you a rebel then?"

Illyana shook her head again, "Nope!"

"Then what?" he threw his hands up in the air in clear exasperation. She never failed to confuse him beyond belief. "Feel free to enlighten me."

"I broke out of limbo three days ago, when you found me on the street corner. I've been running from the people trying to get me back in. I've lived there since I was six, and I'm never going back."

Loki frowned, feeling some sort of sympathy for the young girl. Mutant or not, she had been through a lot in the past week, and Loki could tell what that was doing for her. "What is this limbo that you speak of?" he questioned cautiously.

"It's another dimension," Illyana explained, keeping one eye on the strangely quiet Natasha. "Much like Asgard, but I think Asgard is prettier."

Loki nodded once, not even bothering to ask how she knew of Asgard if she had been trapped in this so-called limbo since she was young enough to remember. "'Tis my home." He paused and then added, "Is it like hell?" That was the only other dimension, not considering the realms, which Loki had heard of.

Illyana, however, shook her head. "Nah, that's different."

Loki nodded again. He didn't exactly know what to do in this scenario. Things were becoming a bit too awkward for his standards. He was finally, maybe, starting to understand all of the connections and occurrences around here. He wasn't about to ruin that. What was curious, on the other hand, was the silence that was radiating from Natasha. Something wasn't right there.

A sigh emerged from in between Illyana's lips and she closed her eyes, directing her sword towards Loki. He held his hands up in the air, not exactly sure what she was doing or how much damage that sword could do to him, and took a step back. He didn't even get a single word out before images flooded into his brain. He winced, feeling the surge faster and faster until it seemed to whirl around in an endless cycle.

This was limbo.

Loki never got a good look at any of the images that Illyana was projecting into his mind, but he got the concept. It was a place that wasn't heaven but wasn't hell. It was an intermediate, a place where one could trap themselves. A place of demons and angels. A place where someone could easily get lost. A place where no one wanted to be. Now, Loki understood why Illyana wanted to escape. He opened his mouth to say something, trying to be sympathetic, but the emotions didn't convey.

"I have seen much worse," he stated, instantly cursing himself afterwards for being so heartless.

Illyana nodded once, dropping her sword back to the ground. Loki glanced over at his shoulder to see Natasha still facing the two of them, not saying a word. He wondered whether Illyana had frozen her or if she was just processing all of the information. There was no more movement as to where Clint and Domino had gone, but that did not matter at the moment. There were stories to be told.

"I know you have," Illyana said at last softly, averting her gaze from Loki's.

Loki sighed, wondering how he should approach her. "Why do you want me dead? I thought - I thought we made a deal."

"Promises are made to be broken."

Little did Loki know how much that would impact him for the rest of his life to come. That would not be the last time he heard that phrase. He sighed, running a hand through his own hair, not exactly sure what to say next.

Illyana continued as Loki never spoke, "I don't mean to kill anyone. I don't want to see you dead, I said that earlier. I just want to try out my new powers. Seeing into other people's minds is not as cracked up as it ought to be."

"I know," Loki replied almost instantly. "I can as well." He watched the shocked look continue to grow on Illyana's face, and he had to smirk. "My father has given me powers although I am not sure he thinks I deserve them now."

Illyana gave Loki a reassuring smile. "I think he does," she whispered so soft that Loki had to strain to hear her. "I think you just don't think he does."

Loki frowned, trying to run her words through his mind to understand it. He narrowed his eyes, hating the fact that she could see into his mind. "You know nothing of me, mutant."

"You sure?" she raised an eyebrow. "I think you do."

Natasha gave a groan from behind Loki as he quipped, "Please elaborate then." She shuffled her feet around, cutting off whatever Illyana was going to respond with. Much to Loki's dismay, Illyana let her.

"What powers exactly? Are you saying you can't be killed?" Natasha picked up her gun from where she tossed it across the alleyway and reloaded it casually as if neither of them would notice. Loki narrowed his eyes, turning his attention away from her. Another mistake. Natasha didn't waste any time to shoot Loki in the shoulder again although he was able to deflect the bullets with a wave of his hand.

He spun back around, glaring at Natasha. "I believe I was not speaking to you, mortal."

"I'm getting real tired of your shit," she spat, snapping at the core. Loki gave a good-natured shrug, leaving Natasha no choice but to tackle him to the ground. Illyana backed away, leaving Loki and Natasha room to battle it out again. Loki tried to wriggle away but to no avail.

"What do you want woman?" he demanded, biting his lip as he struggled to release himself from her grasp.

Natasha hissed, "I want you dead!"

Loki laughed, "It takes a lot more than a young mortal assassin to kill me. I am a God, you fool."

Natasha growled, kicking the side of Loki's head and got to her feet. Loki spat blood on the ground, shaking his head and propped himself up, attempting to get up as well. Natasha kicked him again and he let out a groan, the wounds healing themselves quickly. He finally found the motivation to get to his feet, the ring allowing the pain to spread throughout his body.

"What about a sword infused with a soul? What would that do to you?" came a small voice from behind the pair. Loki spun around, glaring at Illyana. And here he thought she was on his side…

"Mutant. I do not know you and you do not know me," Loki began. "Can we not just reside in peace?"

Illyana shrugged, bouncing up and down. Her golden waves in her head bobbed around her shoulders as she moved, dragging her sword back up in position. It almost seemed as if the sword was heavier than her, but Loki knew better than to believe what he was seeing. "Peace is boring!" she exclaimed at last.

Loki had to chuckle at that one, "Normally, I would agree with you. Someday, I will be ruler of the nine realms and peace will not be an option. However, I need to return to Asgard in five moons time. I am just looking to pass through quietly. I believe we have discussed this before."

He finished his speech, readying himself for whatever Illyana was going to do next, but a commotion at the beginning of the alleyway made the trio glance up at the entrance.

"Shit."

Both Clint and Domino stumbled into the alleyway, darting separate ways as soon as they locked eyes with the rest of the occupants. Loki made a face, averting his attention away from Natasha and Illyana for a few moments.

He heard a loud, "Too bad," before he felt a searing pain in his lower abdomen. He looked down to see Illyana's soul sword sticking out from his stomach. He hissed in pain, shoving the sword out and stumbling to the side of the alleyway. He breathed in and out, not noticing where Illyana disappeared off to for the moment. His vision went hazy as he glanced around at Natasha, Domino and Clint. Domino pulled out her usual handgun and shot at Clint, who ducked down behind an archway leading to a doorway. Natasha turned to Loki, smirking. "It looks someone is doing my work for me," she said with a simper and stalked away, presumably over to Domino and Clint. Clint moved over to a dumpster, where Domino turned and approached, holding her gun out in front of her.

Loki didn't really care about any of that, or who lived or died. Right now, he was concerned for himself, like usual. He wasn't healing. Not this time. His breathing quickened and slowed at an odd rate, and he moved his hand away from his wound, sticking with blood. He winced, cursing under his breath. He sunk to the ground, out of sight and watched the others.

Natasha clicked her gun behind Domino's head who instantly placed her hands in the air, hissing, "And now there's the crazy red-headed chick behind me."

"Drop the gun, kid," Natasha jeered, narrowing her eyes. Clint peered out from behind the dumpster although Loki didn't think the other two noticed.

Domino shrugged, "Do I have to? That doesn't seem productive to me."

"Drop the gun. I don't like to kill children but I will if I have to."

Domino chuckled to herself, dropping the gun on the floor with no other real option.

"Who are you?" Natasha demanded.

Loki whispered her name under his breath as if to remember it when he was left here to die. Domino didn't give Natasha a straight answer, however. "Me?" she raised an eyebrow. "I think the word is mercenary."

"How old are you?" Natasha didn't let the interrogations stop.

"I'm thirteen," Domino snapped. "Are you going to continue interrogating me or can I finish my job?"

Natasha furrowed her eyebrows together, not exactly figuring out what Loki had earlier. She pressed the gun deeper into Domino's temple. "And what is your job exactly?" she insisted.

"To kill the archer and his brother," Domino answered without a second thought. "I thought that much would be obvious."

"Who sent you?"

Domino folded her arms across her chest, "Why do you care?"

"Just answer the question," Natasha spat in Domino's ear, losing her temper quickly.

"I don't know," the black-eyed mercenary shrugged. "It was through the phone. I'm an assassin; I don't question why or who, I just care about getting paid."

A pop sounded from Loki's other side and he turned his head quickly, locking eye contact with the person he wanted gone. He groaned, rolling his eyes and averting his gaze. "I thought you were on my side," he complained.

"I'm on no one's side," Illyana responded, placing a hand over his wound. "And I don't want you dead. But I can see that it does hurt you. You're a magical being."

Loki narrowed his eyes, wincing from the pain. "You bitch," he hissed.

"That's not a nice thing to call an eleven year old," Illyana scolded, using her own magic from the soul sword to heal Loki's wound. To his great surprise, the pain instantly eased up and he frowned, not exactly sure what was going on. Why was she helping him?

He didn't get a chance to ask.

The silence was comfortable as he glanced back up at Natasha and Domino, still sending death glares at each other. "Give me your phone," Natasha continued on from the previous conversation.

"Are you stupid?" Domino protested. "Do you really think I have it on me?"

Natasha shook her head, "Why are you doing this?"

Domino shrugged, "Because it's fun. It pays well."

"You're thirteen and you're doing this by choice?" Natasha sounded appalled.

Domino rolled her eyes again, "And you're a Russian spy and you're pointing a gun at me. Yay! We all know things about each other now!"

Natasha sighed, knocking Domino to the ground. "Go home kid, you already did enough."

As soon as Loki's stomach wound was fully healed, Illyana got to her feet, presenting her sword once more. Loki narrowed his eyes, turning his attention back to Illyana.

"To remember me by," she smirked, slicing the palm of Loki's hand with her sword.

Loki hissed in pain, kicking Illyana in the stomach. "When I become ruler of the nine realms someday, I will find you, you little bitch. And I will kill you." As Loki wrapped a piece of his mortal shirt around his hand in obvious agony, Illyana found the opportunity to disappear. Loki sighed, trying to focus straight.

He got to his feet, taking one last look at Natasha, Domino and Clint, and teleported away from the alleyway and out of sight.


	11. Chapter 11

When Loki disappeared from the alleyway and away from the mess that he had gotten thrown into, he thought he was free. He thought that he would never have to see any of those idiotic mortals again. He never wanted to. He just wanted to return to Asgard after the longest fourteen moons of his entire life and stay there. Unfortunately, he did not receive the wish in the way that he originally hoped.

He didn't exactly know where he was teleporting to. The god wasn't familiar with the surroundings of Budapest, so naturally nothing came to mind when he decided to leave the alleyway behind. He wasn't thinking of anything in particular like when he teleported back in Asgard. A house was the first thing that popped into his head; when Loki opened his eyes, a house was the first thing that he saw. He wasn't exactly sure where he was, or how far away from Budapest he was; hell, he wasn't even sure if he was out of the cursed city. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. This was the best that he was going to get for now, and he knew that from the moment he arrived at this strange place.

Loki cautiously opened the door and headed inside. The house that he transported to was not big at all; in fact, it was quite the opposite. There were three large rooms on a single floor, spanning the entire grounds of the residence. Each room looked more abandoned than the previous, as he discovered quickly, and any moment, it looked as if the entire house might cave in. The floorboards creaked with every step that Loki took, and the dust falling from the ceiling didn't help in the slightest. Loki sighed, making his way back into the first room closest to the front door. He sat down in the single red plush chair in the center of the room, pondering over the events of what just occurred.

A small pop sounded not moments later and a blonde face swam into his vision once more. Instantly, he swore, turning his head away. He thought he had left all of these people behind! He rolled his eyes in the back of his head, trying to regain some of his senses. He knew that he had to act like he meant to come here, and that he knew exactly where he was; yet, none of that was remotely true.

Illyana locked eyes with him, her face growing more serious by the second. "Oh, it's you again," she said like she didn't care about Loki whatsoever. Loki was an excellent lie detector, and he knew one when he saw one. He smirked in response, knowing he had her trapped now.

"Could not stay away, my dear?" he questioned, his grin becoming larger by the second.

Illyana continued to narrow her eyes, throwing a smile back in his direction as well. "I'm not your dear," she instantly responded.

Loki opened his mouth to retort something back at the young mutant but the front door to the rundown house swung open once again. He sighed, getting to his feet as he watched the missing three assassins tumble into the place. He immediately ducked into the other room to avoid being spotted, but to no avail. Natasha glared in his direction, "You again?" He knew he was doomed. There was no escaping this hell.

Domino grabbed her gun from the back of her suit and shot once at Clint, who ducked not far from where Loki was now standing. "Go die!" he shouted, letting the bullet hit the wall next to him.

Domino spun around at the sound of Natasha's voice and let another bullet fly in Loki's direction. "What are you doing here?" she asked aloud. Clint glanced up from his hiding spot and gave Loki a look of surprise. The god himself threw his hands up in the air and stalked out into the empty space of the room.

"Since everyone is noticing," he said, spinning around like he was performing a show, "I am Loki, God of Mischief and King of Asgard. I have returned for no apparent reason but entertainment, supposedly." He finished with a smirk, flourishing his name once more.

Natasha rolled her eyes and fired her gun in Loki's direction, as did Domino again. Somehow, he managed to avoid getting hit twice more and ducked back to his other hiding spot. Natasha gave up on pursuing the god and tackled Domino to the floor.

"And this is typical," Loki muttered, half to himself, not expecting anyone to be listening.

But, of course, he was wrong yet again. There was always someone watching his every move, no matter what he said or did. "I'm glad we can provide such entertainment for you," simpered Illyana from behind him, having snuck in before he did.

"You do as a matter of fact," Loki hissed, turning his attention back to the three assassins in the other room. Clint popped his head up from behind the chair he was crouched behind and let an arrow land on the wall right next to Domino's head. Domino, now distracted by the archer, didn't see Natasha coming until it was too late. The red-headed assassin already had her hands wrapped around the black-eyed woman's throat and holding her tight to the wall before Domino could even blink.

Illyana nodded once as Clint stalked towards the other two women in the room, picking up Domino's gun from where she dropped it in surprise.

"L-let me g-go," Domino managed to choke out.

Natasha turned her attention over her shoulder to Clint, who clearly didn't seem interested in killing her anymore. That seemed odd, what different call had been made? "I told you to run, didn't I?" she murmured under her breath.

Clint nodded once and took off running out of the house and out of sight without another glance. "Thanks," he called over his shoulder before disappearing.

Natasha shook her head, directing her focus back on Domino. Loki wasn't sure whether she was going to kill her or completely let her go. It could go either way, and any way that it went, it looked like Loki wasn't going anywhere for quite some time. He sighed, sitting on the ground. He pulled his gold ring off of his finger and twirled it around in his hands, mesmerizing himself with the patterns and writings on the hoop. To his dismay, however, he had company.

Illyana took a seat next to him, inching as close as she could to the god of mischief. "Ooh," she exclaimed when she spotted the ring. "What's that?"

"Fuck off mutant," came the only response that Illyana was getting out of Loki. He really had no patience for her right then and there. Perhaps that should have been her first hint.

Illyana shrugged, "I don't really feel like it."

Loki made a face, completely ignoring the words that just appeared from her mouth. He glanced up from where he was spinning his ring around in his hands just in time to see Natasha smack Domino on the side of her head with her gun, knocking the black-eyed mercenary out cold. Surprise ran across Loki's face. But it didn't last long. Natasha dropped Domino, now passed out, to the ground and shot Loki where he was sitting. He leapt up, dropping the ring in shock, leaving Illyana to use her nimble fingers to grab it quickly.

"Oh for Odin's sake!" he shouted in clear exasperation. "Quit it mortal!" He turned to Illyana who was already making an attempt to escape. "And do not touch me. Give it."

Illyana shook her head as Natasha kept firing in Loki's direction. He couldn't keep dodging the assassin's bullets as well as keep an eye on Illyana to get his ring back. The dilemma was just too great. He didn't think fast enough. Illyana smirked in the god's direction once more before disappearing with a pop. Loki collapsed to the ground, putting all his energy into creating a force field around himself to protect himself from Natasha's endless fire. He let his mind wander and the magic force began to slip, fading away as his focus did. When the force field completely disappeared, Natasha pulled out a separate gun and fired once, striking Loki square in the chest. He pulled out the bullet and tossed it aside without any expression written on his face. He knew he would have survived that, but why wasn't he feeling the pain that he should have felt clearly? The confusion blocked his mind from telling him to escape, for Natasha appeared behind him and tasered him in the back. His body convulsed but not a thing happened to the god. Natasha stopped after a moment, stepping away from Loki in clear shock.

"That much voltage should have even affected a god such as you," Natasha sounded stunned.

Even Loki wasn't sure what exactly was happening, but he couldn't let that show. He always had to have a plan, even if it wasn't created yet. "I will kill you woman."

Loki grew tired of Natasha's ways and kicked away her taser, using his magic to destroy the mortal weapon. He froze as he looked down at his hands, instantly realizing why he wasn't feeling anything.

Illyana.

Wherever she was, she was feeling everything that he was supposed to feel. She could be dead from all of that, and it was completely his fault. Rage consumed his brain as a strange feeling of protectiveness washed over him. He grabbed Natasha by the throat and lifted her in the air, choking the life out of her. "You need to stop now," was all he said for the moment, not wanting to explain himself.

"Go to hell," Natasha managed to get out, spitting in the god's face.

Loki smirked, "I created hell."

Natasha shook her head, clearly not amused in the slightest. Loki's choke hold tightened and Natasha clawed at his strong hands, fighting for breaths of air. "L-let me go," she whispered with the constricted gasps.

"Then let me go," Loki said calmly.

There was a pause in which neither person moved. They were simply locked in a never ending stare down, until finally Natasha cracked. "Fine," she said, seeing no other choice if she wanted to keep her life. Loki released his grip, letting her slide to the floor, taking a breather.

"I have a proposal for you."

There was a pause, no response emerging from Natasha, so Loki saw that as his cue to continue. "You get me that ring from that little bitch," he said, his voice dropping low. "And I will go quietly with you."

"And why should I help you?" Natasha questioned.

"Because you want me," pointed out Loki, "and I am willing to give myself fully to you."

Natasha narrowed her eyes, not exactly comprehending what the god was getting at. This was getting way too complicated for the assassin's liking. "I want you dead," she said at last.

Loki raised an eyebrow, "Is that the only way?"

There was another moment of silence as both parties processed what the other was saying. Finally, Natasha sighed, biting her lip as she struggled to make a decision.

"Why should we help you?" she quizzed, raising both of her eyebrows at once.

"Because I can help you."

"How."

Loki sighed, not wishing to explain himself and yet he knew it was the only way. He needed her help whether he liked to admit it or not. Illyana and Natasha had a history, and if anyone was going to know where the little bitch had gotten off to, it would be her. Unfortunately, it seemed like Loki had no other choice at the moment. "I have information beyond your wildest dreams, and you want me dead. It works out, does it not?"

"Why should I trust you?" The interrogations wouldn't stop, no matter what Loki said or did to try and change Natasha's mind.

Loki shrugged, "You should not. I would not trust even myself. Yet, you are still here."

"What if I say no?"

"There is no stopping you." Loki knew exactly how to play this game. He had played it many times before and this was no exception. He knew exactly what Natasha needed and how to play her; it was working out absolutely perfectly.

She exhaled, groaning as she realized what she was about to do. "Fine," she said, almost inaudibly. "I'll help you, but you better be worth it."

Loki smirked, "Oh trust me. I am."

"Where could she have gone?" Natasha pondered aloud, her mind racing with thoughts. Loki invaded her privacy, entering her jumble of considerations in her brain. He watched as every single memory of Illyana floated throughout her mind. She was trying to get some sense of where the mutant could have gotten off to, and Loki frowned, trying to process it all.

After a moment of intense thinking from them both, Loki spoke up again. "She cannot have gone far. She has my ring, after all."

Natasha glanced up, "What even is so important about a piece of jewelry?"

"It is the very reason that I am here."

Natasha raised an eyebrow, signaling Loki to continue his story. The god sighed, "It contains all of my feelings, emotions and pain. Anything that you were doing to me, she was feeling it."

The Black Widow's eyes lit up as something clicked in her mind. It looked like she had just realized a certain fact that she had overlooked before. There could only be one place.

"I know exactly where she is."


	12. Chapter 12

As Natasha's words appeared from her mouth, Loki read the answer to his question in her mind. It was quite clear, she wasn't wrong about that, and he didn't doubt that that was where Illyana was. Not having known her as long as Natasha did, Loki had no options of his own. For now, he had to rely on the red-haired assassin. For now.

Quickly, before she could protest, Loki slipped his hand into Natasha's and teleported away to the location that the assassin was picturing in her mind. He wanted to act fast before the memory faded away. So many questions of his own lingered on the tip of his tongue, and yet he didn't ask any just yet. There were some things he needed to figure out on his own first.

As soon as the transportation stopped, Natasha wriggled away from Loki's grasp with a disgusted look on her face. She shook her head, biting her lip and looking away from the god. "Do you even know where this is Loki?" she asked, not making eye contact.

"'Tis away from where we were," Loki replied slowly, trying to form out words while his brain was still functioning at top speed. "We need to go a bit farther and then I believe I owe you an explanation."

"That better be a damn good explanation," Natasha hissed.

Loki shrugged, "I am naught but a young adult. Forgive me."

Snow fell around them as they trekked across the open land that Natasha had pictured in her mind. Loki shook his head, his body instantly adjusting the coldness, and trudged forward with no problem. Natasha followed close behind, not a single word erupting from her mouth. He wasn't exactly sure how to take the silence… it had never happened before. Loki coughed, pulling his jacket tighter around his shoulders for lack of something better and more human-like to do.

"So what exactly happened between you and her?" asked the god cautiously.

"I don't like to talk about it."

Loki nodded, "It seems it is time." Loki smirked, enjoying the simple fact that Natasha knew exactly what he was talking about. "I owe you a further explanation, that is true, but I have told you what you need to know. I, on the other hand, know nothing about you," he added as an afterthought.

"I was a princess here in Russia; Illyana was the niece of my father's advisor. Our families killed each other. End of story. Family feud."

Loki made a face, knowing he wasn't going to get any further explanation. "Do you not think it is time to end this?" he pondered aloud.

His question never got answered, whether it be because Natasha knew the correct answer and didn't want to admit it, or whether it be because Illyana was spotted. Loki would never know. They crossed a sign in front of a rather large body of water that clearly read 'Lake Biakal' in scratched out and decaying letters. Natasha stopped alongside Loki, pointing to a figure crawling in the snow next to the almost frozen over lake.

"There she is," the change of subject was abrupt, and Loki knew their previous conversation was over whether he wanted it to be or not. Apparently, Natasha was louder than either of them expected, for Illyana managed to lift her head from her twisted position on the cold ground and locked eye contact with them both.

She crawled into a sitting position, the pain clearly showing on her face. "What do you want with me?" she shouted at both of them.

Loki took a step closer to her, wincing at the agony written all over her body. He bit his tongue from saying something sympatric to her. After all, his feelings were gone. He ceased his striding a few feet away from the blonde girl and crouched down to her level. "I do need my ring back."

A gunshot was fired from far away, landing square on the chain around Illyana's neck and breaking it in half. The chain and the ring attached tumbled to the ground, but before anyone could make a move, Illyana snatched up the ring and disappeared with a pop once more. Loki picked up the chain, calling out to no one, "You mutant! I can help with your pain!" The god turned around angrily, glaring at Natasha. He didn't need to say a word, his face said it all. Natasha shrugged as if to say in response what are you going to do. Loki rolled his eyes, spinning around as he heard another pop from the distance. Illyana reemerged where she was standing naught but twenty seconds ago. This time, Loki took notice, without the ring.

"I'm sure you can," an eye roll was accompanied with the young girl's response.

Loki sighed, "I need the ring back. It is what is causing you pain. 'Tis my pain."

Illyana narrowed her eyes, the distrust presenting itself across her facial features. Loki knew that she didn't trust him and he did not trust her, especially not after the stunts both of them pulled back in Budapest. "How do I know you're not lying," she pointed out. "You are the God of Mischief, after all."

"This is true," Loki nodded once. "You still owe me an apology for reading my mind, I must add, but I swear on my father and the realm of Asgard that I am telling you the truth this time."

Natasha took a few steps forward as well, standing close behind the god. "Because you felt everything I did to him," she interjected. "Because of the ring!"

"I don't believe you."

Loki threw his hands up in the air, "See? Even Miss Romanoff can account for that."

"She wasn't there when it all started," Illyana said.

Natasha shook her head, tired of all of the games. She pulled another mortal weapon, one that seemed familiar to Loki, and aimed it at the two of them. "You want proof? Fine." She stalked closer to Loki and stabbed the mortal weapon in his side. The god could feel the electricity from the weapon flow throughout his body but nothing painful or damaging occurred to him. He turned his attention to Illyana who was standing there like it was the most careless thing in the world.

Loki knew exactly what was happening. He narrowed his eyes, "Where did you put it?"

"Somewhere only I can access," she smiled.

"Limbo." That was Natasha, piping up with actually useful information. She folded her arms over her chest from where she was standing next to Loki. The usual annoyed expression on her face deepened drastically, leaving Loki with an impression of Clint and Domino. He had a feeling that he would not be seeing them again.

Illyana and Natasha had a brief exchange in their native language - Russian was it? - and Loki tapped his foot on the ground impatiently. Whatever they were saying, they were not getting along. He closed his eyes, focusing on the language in both of their minds. He got the gist easily with Natasha threatening Illyana to give the ring and the mutant snarkily refusing.

"You know," Loki interrupted their argument. "My father gave me the power to read minds, so your little chat there is pretty pointless." He grew a smirk on his face as he watched Illyana send a glare in his direction.

"Shut up," she hissed, leaving Loki laughing while the snow continued to fall even harder around the trio. Illyana's eyes grew darker as she summoned up a powerful spell and sent it towards the god of mischief, sending him flying backwards into the snow. "I said shut up," she snapped.

Loki turned to Natasha, frantically searching her pockets for another gun. She looked over at the god despairingly when she realized that she could not find one. "Go," Loki cried. "I have it covered now. Thank you for your assistance."

"You still need to come with me," Natasha tilted her head to one side in confusion. "My boss still wants you dead, and you promised to come with me."

Loki sighed, shaking his head, "I lie." With that last statement, he sent a teleportation spell over to the red-haired assassin, sending her back to Budapest without another word. He hoped that he would never see her again, although deep down, his gut said that he hadn't seen the last of Natasha Romanoff.

He got back to his feet, summoning his scepter to his hand. "You are still feisty I see," he chuckled. "We will have to fix that."

"You can't fix something that isn't broken," Illyana responded quickly.

"Nay," Loki agreed, a plan forming in his head. "Not yet."

Illyana rolled her eyes, exhausted with this game of cat and mouse, and blasted Loki with another surge of power. The god saw this one coming and managed to only get hit lightly in the shoulder. He stumbled over a block of ice and pointed his spear menacingly in the young mutant's direction. "Try again," he encouraged, clapping his hands together while plastering another stupid grin on his face.

"I don't want to." She was just as stubborn as always, and Loki had no doubts that she would stay like this for the rest of her life. He wasn't wrong.

The god shrugged, "Fine, 'tis my turn." Loki leapt in the air, adjusting his grip on the scepter. With a firm hold on his own weapon, he made a quick stab downwards, piercing the skin of Illyana's right leg. She fell down, not seeing that coming, and hissed up at the Asgardian prince.

"That hurt!" she exclaimed, wrapping her hands around the wound.

Loki smirked, "And now you know what it feels like, mutant."

Illyana slowly got to her feet, the wound seemingly becoming not as bad as before. Loki frowned. She didn't have the power to heal, so what was occurring in the mutant's body? The blood loss was minimal if any. He couldn't get distracted, not again, so he snapped his head back up to meet Illyana's eyes who hadn't moved an inch.

"I get hurt all of the time."

Loki made a face, "I meant by a god, you idiot." He paused for a moment, catching his breath. "You know," he added on. "You never did give me that apology."

Illyana laughed, the trill sounding more devilish each time it sounded. She was becoming something different than the girl that Loki first met, and he wasn't exactly sure how to take that. Was it a good thing? Or a bad thing? Or was it a good thing that she was becoming bad? The questions never stopped pounding throughout the god's head. The cackle grew louder until the blonde telepath was almost bent over on the ground, "You think you're so smart; unfortunately, I'm smarter." She straightened up, her face growing serious almost in an instant. "As for the apology, I don't know you anything."

"I am much older," Loki snapped, losing his patience rapidly, "and thus contain more knowledge than you child."

Illyana's face twisted in a new smug feature, one that had Loki instantly on his toes. "I know something you don't," she sang in a singsongy annoying voice, mocking the god out. He narrowed his eyes at the tone and then proceeded to make a face in response.

"Children," he shook his head. "Does it look like I care, mutant?"

The blonde telepath shrugged, "Well, it involves you so I thought you might."

Now, Loki knew that Illyana was just teasing him. She wanted him to care enough to drive him to the point of insanity, and then she wouldn't tell him her so-called secret after all of that. He knew her ways, and he wasn't about to play her game again. He had already fallen for her tricks too many times. He shook his head, simply responding with an easy, "Many things involve me."

"This involves you and the future of Asgard," she teased, the smug chortle growing stronger and stronger. "But I guess you don't want to know so I'll just go."

There probably wasn't even a secret after all. These were the ways of Illyana Rasputina.

"Wait," Loki said, just as the mutant was about to disappear again. He grabbed her arm, spinning her around to face him.

Illyana smiled, seemingly thinking that her little game worked after all and he was about to beg for her mercy. Not a chance. "Yes?" she beamed innocently.

"I need my ring back."

Illyana rolled her eyes. She was obviously annoyed that Loki seemed stuck on that one subject, but her answer was still going to be the same, no matter how he asked the question. "Too bad," she stuck her tongue out in the god's direction.

He leaned backwards, not expecting that kind of childish response. He shook his head, "What will it take?" He had to clear his thoughts out.

"Nothing," she said. "You're not getting it back."

Frustrated, Loki gripped her arm tighter. He needed that ring back, desperately, he might add. If he returned home from his punishment on Migard without the ring which, in a way, was the reason why he was here, he didn't even want to think what Odin might do. "Why? What do you know?"

Illyana knew Loki was at his cracking point and she was taking full advantage of that fact. "Something," she paused, gesturing with her hands, "life-altering."

Loki rolled his eyes, "I bet."

There was no secret to begin with, Loki supposed, why was he even bothering? The young girl smirked back up at him, "But I guess you'll never know." She slowly started fading away, flipping Loki off as her image grew fainter and fainter. Loki twisted around, trying to grasp something material in Illyana's body, but nothing was there anymore. She was gone.

Loki collapsed in the snow, letting the coldness wash over him like a blanket, and closed his eyes. When he reopened them, he was staring at the inside of a golden ceiling of Asgard.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Yo. There are major Thor spoilers ahead and for the rest of the novel. Just a fair warning.

It had been six years since Loki returned mysteriously from his sentence in Migard, and yet the memories never left him. No matter how hard he tried, every night he would awaken with a sense that something did not go right. He was forgetting something important. It was like a part of him was missing.

As he walked down the familiar hallway, donning his recognizable helmet and armor, thoughts flooded through his mind upon his return. Not a day passed where he did not think about something that occurred on the foreign planet. Whether it be a wonderful memory to reflect upon or something depressing to remember, it was always something. And Loki wasn't sure if that was a good thing yet.

He recalled the moment when he awakened, staring at the ceiling of the well-known golden Asgardian palace. Odin had been not far, immediately jumping on the young god about his travels, naturally noticing that the ring was missing firstly. Loki remembered sighing, claiming how it wasn't his fault. Indirectly, it wasn't. But Odin did not believe him, and perhaps that was the reason why Loki was sauntering towards Thor's ceremony instead of his own. Loki could not be trusted, and that was the end of that. No more questions needed…

Loki emerged from behind a pillar in the side room to the grand hall, watching his brother march past him curiously. He smirked, "Nervous, brother?" He put on a brave smile, trying to make it look like he was going to enjoy himself.

"Have you ever known me to be nervous?" Thor was quick on his feet. He didn't even turn around to see who the newcomer was. Who else would it be but Loki? No matter what happened between them, they would always be brothers. But Loki had his own tricks up his sleeve.

Loki shook his head, "There was that one time in Norheim-" He trailed off, chuckling at the expression written on the thunder god's face.

Thor interrupted quickly, "That wasn't nerves brother, that was the rage of battle. How else could I have fought my way through a hundred warriors and pulled us out alive?" Both gods turned at the sound of footsteps approaching. Thor nodded a greeting to the servant who presented him with a goblet of wine. Loki resisted the urge to roll his eyes, not wishing to cause ill upon anyone yet.

"As I recall," Loki interjected before Thor could continue. "I was the one who veiled us in smoke to ease our escape."

"Some do battle, others just do tricks."

Loki caught the servant out of the corner of his eye stifling a burst of laughter, obviously disliking the god of mischief. He waved his hand gently towards the goblet in the servant's hand, turning the pure liquid into a pile of snakes. They poured over the sides of the cup, slithering out and across the now terrified servant's hand. She screamed, throwing the goblet to the ground in a hurry. Loki let out a chuckle.

Thor made a disapproving face. He warned his brother in a low voice, "Loki."

The dark-haired god waved his hand slightly again and the snakes melted back into the wine, now spilled across the cold marble ground. The illusion shattered and Loki smirked up at his brother.

"Now that was just a waste of good wine," Thor complained.

Loki replied, "Just a bit of fun." Like always, he added silently. He turned to the servant, who was now standing several feet away from the mischief god as if she didn't want to witness his next trick. He shrugged his shoulders, "Right, my friend?" The servant shook her head, scooping up the goblet laying on the ground and scurrying away. Loki shook his head distastefully and twisted his head back around to face his brother once more, watching him don his own familiar eagle-winged helmet.

"Nice feathers," he smirked, unable to help himself.

But Thor wasn't playing nice today and letting Loki win all of the quips. "You do not really want to start this again, do you cow?"

Loki held his hands up in the air in mock shock. "I was being sincere!" he proclaimed.

"You are incapable of sincerity."

Loki's voice grew serious and the laughter faded from his green eyes, turning into something mysterious and grave. "Am I?" he voiced his opinion aloud although every hint of humor had faded from his body. He looked Thor deep in the eyes, all pretense lost. "I have looked forward to this day as long as you have. You are my brother and my oldest friend. Sometimes I am envious but never doubt that I do love you."

Thor searched his brother's face for any hint of irony, but none appeared. Loki could tell that the god of thunder was torn between wanting to believe him more than anything and knowing that the dark-haired god was a very talented liar. Was Loki truly speaking from the heart? Loki didn't let a single emotion appear on his face, mostly because he had none. The ring was still gone. There was no changing that. Loki had been looking forward to this day, that much was true, but it was because he always thought that he would be king. And now, he had his own surprise. Another trick to play, this one more dangerous and nasty than the last. If anyone found out… He did not even want to consider the consequences. After a long moment, Thor put an appreciative hand on Loki's shoulder, beaming.

"Thank you."

Loki smirked, "Now give us a kiss."

"Stop," chuckled his brother in return, knowing that the mischief god simply couldn't help himself. Both brothers adjusted their ceremonial wear, heaving a sigh to no one in particular. "How do I look?" Thor continued after a moment of silence.

"Like a king."

It took Loki all he had not to add _Your Majesty_ at the end. They repeated themselves over and over again in his brain, but that phrase was and always will be for him alone. He could still see Natasha's smirking face in his mind, her red hair billowing around her shoulders. He shook his head, taking another look at his brother. He was the king for now, but one day, that would Loki sitting on that throne.

_"What happened Loki?" came Fandral's daunting voice, mocking out Loki as the rest of the Warriors Three and Lady Sif stalked past the spot where he almost seemed frozen on the Bifrost. "Your silver tongue turned to lead?"_

_Loki only smirked, "Get me off of this bridge before it collapses under your girth." _

He had wanted to say so much more but he held his tongue, waiting until the opportune moment. Ever since his adventure to Migard, his ability to lie in a quick situation had been depleting fast. Maybe it was the fault of Illyana for matching his wit and strength, or perhaps it was the taunts that came from Domino. He could not afford to think like that, not anymore.

_"Run back home, little princess."_

Loki knew it was Laufey's voice and he still cursed aloud, standing directly next to his arrogant brother. But all that filled his mind was the story that Odin used to tell him about the Romanovs and the Rasputins. It had been one of the only Migardian stories that he would listen to. Perhaps it was the back-stabbing and mysteries that intrigued him, but now more than ever, it interested him to no end. He knew it couldn't be, but all that filled his head was, "I was a princess to the Russian throne." Yes, you were Natasha. But not today.

_"I was a fool to think that you were ready," Odin's voice was low and menacing, unlike anything Loki had ever heard before. _

_Loki took a step forward, "Father-" But he ended his train of thought when he saw the glare on his father's face. He held his hands up in the air and shut his mouth, knowing that there was nothing he could do. He could only watch in pretend despair as his brother was exiled, much harsher than Loki was, but this time, there was an advantage. Loki was the only heir now._

When Loki allowed passageway for the Frostgiants into Asgard, he had not felt guilty once. His ring allowed him for no emotions since the golden piece of jewelry was still missing. He felt free for once in his life; Thor might have called it jealousy but Loki knew it was more than that. It was a chance to play yet another trick, until it happened.

_"How did the guard even know where we had gone?" Volstagg questioned, devouring his next meal rather fast. Loki made a face just at the sight of the supposed warrior._

_"I told him," Loki admitted, staring at his arm in mock shame. Even though he was the God of Mischief, they should have known better than to trust him. _

_Lady Sif stood up quickly in protest at the same time as Fandral. "You what?" they both exclaimed at the same time._

_"I told him to go to Odin after we'd left," Loki said, heaving a fake sigh. "Though he should be flogged for taking so long."_

_Volstagg continued to stare at Loki, "You told the guard?"_

_"I saved our lives! And Thor's too, mind you. I had no idea Father would banish him for what he did." _

That was partly the truth. He knew Thor would get in deeper trouble than before, which is one of the reasons that Loki let the Frost Giants into Asgard in the first place. Perhaps even enough to revoke the throne from him… That was exactly what happened and more. Jealousy of Thor? They wished it was that simple. The god of mischief just wanted a chance to prove himself worthy. He was always a shadow; he learned that much from his days on Migard.

_"Stop!"_

_Loki shut his eyes, letting the memories of his past consume him. He couldn't watch as the transformation took place. It was too gut wrenching to even bear to see happen to his own body. He placed the Casket back on its pedestal and slowly turned around, his face emotionless. He recognized Odin's voice and as he turned around, opening his eyes, he could read the dismay on his father's face. _

_Loki sighed, feeling the coldness fading from his body as his normal skin color replaced the blue. "Am I cursed?" he questioned._

_"No."_

_Loki shook his head, "What am I?"_

_"You are my son."_

_"What more than that?"_

_Odin didn't answer at first. He avoided eye contact with the dark-haired god, his facial features growing older and wearier in a matter of seconds. The burdened look appeared over his entire body. Loki narrowed his eyes, realizing the truth at last. Suddenly, everything was starting to fall in place. Suddenly, everything made sense._

_"The Casket was not the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day, was it?" It wasn't a question, more of a statement. There was no denying it any longer and both gods in the room could see that. Odin merely glanced up, meeting his supposed son in the eyes and that was the end._

_"No." There was a slight pause in which Loki's breaths grew heavier and deeper as he fought for air. "In the aftermath of the battle, I went into the Temple and I found a baby. Small for a giant's offspring - abandoned, suffering, dying. Laufey's son."_

_Loki took a step backwards, his mind reeling from the revelation. Tears sprung to the corners of his eyes as he realized how much of his entire life a lie was, starting from the very beginning. "Laufey's son," the dark-haired god trailed off, desperately struggling to make sense of it all. "Why? You were knee-deep in Jotun blood. Why would you take me?"_

_Odin answered quickly, too quickly, and Loki could see the hesitating glance that his supposed father was giving him. This was going to be another lie. He wasn't sure how much more he could take. "You were an innocent child," came the answer at last._

_"You took me for a purpose, what was it?" Loki cut directly to the chase, not bothering with fumbling around any longer. When Odin didn't answer, more tears threatened to spill down the mischief god's cheeks. He had had enough. "TELL ME!"_

_"I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day, bring about an alliance, bring about a permanent peace, through you. But those plans no longer matter."_

_Loki shook his head, not believing what he was hearing. "So I am no more than another stolen relic, locked up here until you might have use of me."_

_"Why do you twist my words?"_

_He didn't have to. The truth hurt enough._

_"You could have told me what I was from the beginning," Loki hissed. "Why didn't you?"_

_Odin responded instantly, "You are my son. My blood." More lies spewed out of his mouth and Loki did his absolute hardest to hold his tongue until the Allfather was done speaking. "I only wanted to protect you from the truth."_

_Loki stammered, unable to handle himself any longer. "Because I-I-I am the monster parents tell their children about at night?" The outrage sparked something even greater than emotions deep within him. He wasn't exactly sure what he was feeling. But that was the beginning. Sadness consumed him even without his ring, which scared him beyond his belief. What was happening to him? _

_"Do not-"_

_But Loki wasn't quite finished yet. "It all makes sense now," he swept on. "Why you favored Thor all of these years."_

_"Listen-"_

_Loki spat out his final words, "Because no matter how much you claim to love me, you could never have a Frost Giant sitting on the Throne of Asgard!"_

Loki's emotions had escaped him when the ring was stolen from him on Migard, but in the heat of that moment, he felt something. He wasn't exactly sure what it was, but it was definitely something. A mixture of sadness and rage perhaps… But he should not be feeling anything. So what had occurred?

His thoughts instantly flew to Illyana and where she was now. Was that somehow connected to her or had she already disposed of the ring years ago? He bit his lip, trying not to think too hard about his past.

Everything was connected.

He had learned that before and things weren't changing now that he was back on Asgard. His entire life had been a lie, growing up, the brotherhood, even his own parents. But now, he felt more alive than before oddly. Everything made much more sense now as if a light bulb had been turned on in Loki's mind. Heaving a sigh, he wasn't exactly sure which one he would take.

How he never felt coldness like the time when he and Natasha found Illyana in Russia. How he always seemed to feel like something was off. How Odin always favored Thor. How the banishment for Thor was so much more harsh than Loki's, not because of the deeds but because of the love. Everything was falling into place.

_"You can bring your urgent matter to me, your King." _

Just the utter sound of the words slipping out of Loki's mouth felt so right like this was what he was meant to do. The betrayal of his so-called friends wasn't shocking; in fact, Loki would have been surprised if they had not figured it out. Scratch that, he would be surprised if Lady Sif didn't figure it out. She was cunning and clever, much like himself, and for that, he respected her to a point. At that point, she still was as stubborn as ever, but in the end, she too kneeled.

_"Father is dead."_

_Loki had to interrupt Thor, not feeling the slightest bit guilty of lying. After his episode with Odin, he had learned to push his surprising emotions back and now the emptiness greeted him like an old friend. Just the way it should be. He stared down at the blond god, forcing sadness to show in his eyes. Thor was so gullible._

_"Wh-what?" Thor stammered, looking around the room frantically as if he had heard his younger brother wrong._

_Loki shook his head sadly, " Your banishment, the threat of a new war, it was too much for him to bear." Thor's face grew solemn as he recognized the implications behind Loki's words - he alone was responsible._

Looking back, Loki's feelings on the subject still hadn't changed. Everything was still working out beautifully to this very day, even though they did not seem to be that way. He had to smile at the thought. Thor was so easy to manipulate and trick, that was certain, and the way he accepted his own doom was priceless. That moment would be one that Loki would never forget.

_Setting foot in the chilling realm that was his original home, Loki couldn't help but shiver, not at the cold but the prospect. He could not bear to imagine growing up in a place such as Jotunheim, but he supposed like anything it was adjustable. Funny how the two realms that he hated the most, Migard and Jotunheim, were the two realms that he truly considered home later in life. As he approached Laufey further, the warriors tensed up around him. He tried not to take notice, nothing showing on the outside or the inside, but continued walking, locking eye contact with Laufey._

_"Tell me why I should not kill you," came the booming voice of the King of the Frost Giants. _

_Loki glanced up, smirking, "After all I have done for you?" He looked deeper into the leader's eyes, seeing something more than before. Everything about this cruel creature had changed in a matter of minutes._

_Realization appeared on Laufey's face and he slowly nodded towards the new king, dressed in his usual green and gold attire. "So you're the one who let us into Asgard?"_

_"Hello Father."_

Seeing Laufey like that for the first time, as a father and son would, changed Loki's life. It made him realize who he really was, who he aspired to be, and who he was never going to achieve to be. His goals and morals changed, and he vowed to himself never to stoop as low as Odin and Laufey did. No matter what, he would make things right somehow. Somehow, he would change his family path.

_"You're a talented liar, brother," Thor shook his head, putting the pieces together at last. "You always have been."_

_Loki cracked a smile, "It is good to have you back." His smirk instantly faded, pointing his scepter at Thor's chest. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go destroy Jotunheim." He fired a blast of dark magic, hitting squarely Thor in the chest and sending him flying backwards through several walls._

Seeing Thor's wrecked and ruined face made his day although he could not help but relate. He felt the same way when he discovered Illyana sitting there in that alleyway when he awoke next to Domino. It wasn't exactly betrayal, but duplicity. His former brother thought that the dark-haired god was just jealous, but somehow, Loki would make him understand in time. Love got you nowhere.

_"I was always more clever than you," Loki sneered, taunting Thor._

_Thor shook his head, slamming his hammer deep into a section of the Bifrost, spinning around to glance at the clone magic Lokis. As much as he hated to admit it, he could not determine the real Loki from the fakes. "Yet not clever enough," he managed to spit out._

_"Look at you, the mighty Thor with all of your strength. What good does that do you now?"_

Every single moment from the battle between him and Thor on the Bifrost was half the truth and half the lie. That was the way that Loki had gotten the game going and it was going to continue until the end. The end would come sooner than the god of mischief originally expected, but not soon enough for the others.

_"All of this was for you."_

Lies.

_"I wanted to make you proud."_

More lies.

_"I did it all for you, father."_

The ultimate lie. And then, as his hand slipped away from his own scepter, there was only darkness.


	14. Chapter 14

Waking up came as a surprise to Loki, his vision instantly full of haziness and dark spots. He shook his head repeatedly, struggling to sit up from where he had appeared on the hard ground. The god frowned, blinking a few times before examining the surrounding area. Where was he anyway? Was he even alive? He had thought he timed his fall from the Bifrost perfectly, but now he wasn't so sure.

His black hair peeled away from his face as he continued to shake his head. The mischief god squinted his eyes from the sunlight bearing in his face as he took in his environment around him. Upon spinning around, he almost fell backwards in shock from the sight. A young woman, probably around the age of 18, was standing behind him with her arms folded tightly across her chest. Her blonde hair stood perfectly still, not a breeze in sight, and she had her lips pursed together like she was thinking hard about something. Her eyes were narrowed at the sight of the god appearing in front of her, and lying across her chest was a small black-chained necklace with a golden ring dangling from the end.

She was older but she was still the same. It took Loki a minute, but then it hit him. Not only was he on Migard, but he had visitors already. Was it madness… or just pure chaos?

"Well lookie what I found," a smile played on the woman's lips, taking in the disheveled appearance of the Asgardian god.

He got to his feet slowly, brushing his hands on his armor. He wasn't changed into his mortal form yet, but at this point, he didn't care. Things weren't exactly going his way already. "Oh for Odin's sake," he snapped back. "I thought I had gotten rid of you when my punishment was over five years ago."

The woman laughed, taking a step closer to Loki. "You know," the god continued. "You still owe me that ring… and an apology."

"I don't owe anyone anything," she smirked. "Well, except for the devil but that doesn't matter."

Loki rolled his eyes, "You have what is rightfully mine."

Illyana lifted her eyes from her necklace, fiddling around with the ring with her fingers, and locked eye contact with the god. "This is rightfully yours now?"

"Aye," Loki nodded.

"You see, I don't believe you."

He looked over at her flabbergasted, "You stole the ring from me! How do you not believe me?"

Illyana shrugged her shoulders. She stated, "Maybe you stole it from someone else," and let another grin appear on her face. Loki resisted the urge to run out of the situation as soon as possible; as much as he wished to have his ring back, was it worth this angerment? He looked back at Illyana, noticing things about her that he didn't before. Even the simple appearances looked a bit different as he observed how old she had gotten. He breathed in sharply, trying to clear his mind.

Rolling his eyes, he said, "Then how could you feel whatever I was supposed to be feeling at that exact moment?"

"Magic."

Loki spluttered around for a moment, considering that very real possibility. "This - this could be true," he managed to spit out at last. "But I swear to you, that ring is rightfully mine."

"Do you think I care?" Illyana let out a trill of laughter, taunting the god of mischief in every way possible. The scary part was that she was winning yet. "Why do you want the ring back anyway?"

Loki didn't answer, not wishing to stutter yet again. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. This domination of his would be a lot simpler if the ring was still mysteriously missing… After all, he was supposed to be dead. He sighed as Illyana swept onwards, "You don't know, do you?"

"I cannot feel anything," he said. "There are little things here and there, but physically and fervently, there are no emotions inside of me." That didn't explain a lot to either party in the room, but at least he had the ability to say something.

Illyana voiced his own thoughts out loud. "Wouldn't that help if you wanted to take over, how did your father say it again, Migard?"

"T'would indeed, mutant, and I have been carefully considering this. But I still continue to long for it for some odd reason." Loki chose his words carefully, not mentioning that his father wasn't really his father anymore and the entire story behind it. He couldn't get into that now.

Illyana scoffed, "So sentimental for a god."

"Sentiment?" Loki questioned. "I think not. I have never been one for sentiment." To further prove his point - whether it be to Illyana or himself, he spat on the ground in what seemed to be disgust. "It is revolting."

"Then why do you want the ring if these feelings are so revolting to you?" pondered the blonde mutant, flinging her blonde hair over her shoulder.

"If I am to be ruler of the nine realms, which I will be someday, I have learned that I need to show more emotions than just rage and anger. Compassionate and strict all at the same time. I - I cannot do it on my own. That is my curse."

Illyana frowned, "So you're cursed?"

Loki bit his tongue, not exactly sure how to explain all of this. It wasn't the easiest of things to say, especially to someone young and naïve like the telepathic mutant. "Nay," he replied slowly. "Not a physical curse, but an emotional one."

"It's still a curse though."

Loki narrowed his eyes in response to Illyana's. "I suppose you are the expert, mutant," he hissed, cocking his head to one side.

"Well yes," she didn't miss a bit, making Loki give her more credit than she was worth in his own mind. "Two out of five portions of my soul are bound to limbo and the devil."

Loki nodded, "If there was a way I could set you free -" He was interrupted by the queen of limbo herself, butting into his conversations just like old times.

"Who says I want to be set free?" she snapped. "I like my power."

Loki raised one eyebrow, keeping both eyes still narrowed. "Of being bound forever?" There was yet another frown, another question going unanswered.

"I don't mind it," she shrugged.

Loki responded just as quickly, "'Tis torture."

"Not really."

"Aye, it would seem."

Illyana sighed. She obviously did not want to have this conversation now. As much as Loki hated to admit it, he had to agree that Illyana didn't seem to be waiting for him again. She had moved on, and so should she. She checked her watch, glancing back up with no trace of emotions written on her face. Perhaps she wasn't as easy of a book to read as he originally imagined. "I must be going," she said.

He rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say, child mutant."

"I'm not a child anymore," she retorted, losing her patience that she had stored for so long.

"You are to me."

Illyana made a face, taking another step away from the god. "Everyone is a child compared to you," she pointed out.

"Perhaps you are the childish of them all," he smirked, wanting to get one last jab in before she disappeared again.

"Why thank you."

There was a slight pause as if Loki wasn't exactly sure how to respond to all of that. Then, he sighed, resisting the urge to either strangle the woman or throw her off the nearest bridge. He wouldn't be surprised, however, if she survived those both. "'Twas not a compliment," he responded at last.

"I took it as one, even though I knew you meant it to be an insult."

Loki shook his head, not even bothering to come up with an answer to that statement. Things were just blowing themselves out of proportion now. He opened his mouth to change the subject, not exactly wanting Illyana to leave his life again for some strange reason. But when he turned around, she was gone. And when he blinked again, he was opening his eyes, staring at a darkening sky.

Loki sat up quickly, doing yet another assessment of his surroundings. Confusion clouded his mind as he tried to make some sort of sense of what just happened in his thoughts. The conversation with the older version of Illyana… that was a dream? It seemed too realistic to be one, and yet, Loki had only just woken up. He shook his head again, holding his head in his hands. What was happening to him?

Upon doing another investigation of his environment, he decided that he was on Migard, much like his dream. So what exactly had happened to him? He never got the chance to figure it out.

A commotion to his left made his head turn in curiosity and what he saw baffled him even further. From where he was sitting behind a tree, Loki couldn't see much, only shadows, but what he saw made his spin whirl. There were a group of people facing a pair of people, one older female and a younger male. He couldn't make out who they were and if he even recognized them, but they seemed to be in deep trouble. The man standing in front of the other group was pointing a gun in the kids' directions, shouting some threatening words. The older girl took a step forward, shouting back in defense of her and what appeared to be her younger brother. Loki narrowed his eyes, hearing the familiar voice that exploded from the girl's lips but not putting two and two together.

There was a pause in which the leader lowered his gun and beckoned his group away from the kids. But, not a moment later, the man turned back around and fired a single shot. The young boy collapsed to the ground, provoking a wail from the older sister. She pulled out her own machine gun, tearing down the crowd in a feeble attempt for revenge, but when she left no man standing, she bent over her younger brother, tears streaming down her face. After a moment, she was gone.

Loki narrowed his eyes, taking a few steps closer to the dead crowd. He examined the bodies carefully, trying to see if there was anything worth taking or remembering, but he only paused when he reached the young boy. There was a clear bullet wound in his chest, but Loki could see the ever so slight rise and fall of the boy's chest. He inhaled sharply, not expecting the kid to still be alive, and quickly did some thinking in his head. With the right amount of dark magic, he could be saved…. He touched the kid's face, examining it further and gently awoke the boy from the land of unconsciousness.

He knew what he had to do.


	15. Chapter 15

Teleportation came in handy more times than Loki would have thought necessary, especially now that he had already discovered many secrets upon arriving back on the retched planet of Midgard. It was something not of a thrill, but temptation for the gods. The god of mischief was one of the few who mastered it almost perfectly. He thought back to his previous visit to Midgard, realizing with a pang that the mutants also had that power… something else that they could take away from him and use against him. He just couldn't afford to let that happen. But for now, he had other priorities. He couldn't sleep anymore, for every time he closed his eyes, he would appear.

_"Who the hell are you?" Loki demanded as he opened his eyes again, this time in a completely unfamiliar world. He narrowed his eyes at the creature standing in front of him. The last thing the god remembered, he was laying in his makeshift bed in an underground warehouse that he had discovered. And now he was… here? Wherever here was…_

_The creature turned around, shoving its purple face in Loki's face. He made a face, taking a step backwards from where the ugly face was inches from his head. The god shook his head, trying to get the mental image of the bloody teeth and the rather large wrinkles out of his mind._

_"They call me the Other," the creature explained, stalking circles around the god of mischief. Loki rolled his eyes; when he had left Asgard behind, he thought he had gotten rid of all of these mystical creatures. True, they were a tad better than the mortals on Midgard, but he would rather be left alone._

_Loki raised a careful eyebrow, "The other what?"_

_"Just the Other."_

_The response was quick but steady, as if daring Loki to question the creature further. He wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to or not. This creature was difficult to explain at best. Loki narrowed his eyes._

_"Loki, the God of Mischief," the Other continued slowly. "We have heard so much about you and your powers for chaos."_

_Loki frowned, internally questioning how this creature from whatever planet they were on knew about him. He was half-flattered, truth be told, but he still didn't want anything to do with whatever "The Other" wanted. But he kept his mouth shut nonetheless. He was indeed curious to see what the purple being wanted with him. _

_"You are familiar with Midgard are you not?"_

_Loki nodded once, "Unfortunately, I am."_

_"Your attitude addresses the fact that you would not mind enslaving these people," the Other continued swiftly as if Loki had never spoke. Loki narrowed his eyes, not exactly sure where the creature was going with this fact. "Our people, the Chitari, need a leader and a new planet."_

_"And you want me to be their leader?" Loki couldn't help but butt in. The Other looked surprised at the outburst but nodded slowly all the same. "Why?"_

_The Other took a deep breath before answering, "You have potential for greatness. We have been watching you for quite some time and we know everything about you. You hold the true power to the Nine Realms."_

_"What do I have to do?" Loki didn't agree one way or another to helping this retched creature achieve success in taking over and ruling Midgard. But his curiosity shone through his spite of this dark planet._

_The Other gave the dark-haired god another bloodied smile, "Conquer the realm, destroy anyone in your path, show no emotions. Show us the way in and you shall be rewarded as ruler of Midgard and eventually all Nine Realms."_

_"Why do you want Midgard?" Loki asked. "It is an awful realm that holds no promises."_

_"Once the mortals are gone and enslaved, we will rebirth the planet in the way that you lead."_

_There had to be some sort of catch. There was no free ride to anywhere anymore. It was that simple, but still, Loki wasn't complaining. He merely wished to know everything before he dove into a project that he barely signed up for. He frowned deeper, waiting to hear the catch._

_The Other didn't say any more, which made Loki frown in frustration. "So it seems I have an army then?" the god questioned for lack of anything to say. The Other simply nodded once and turned away, plucking an object from a nearby rock structure and handing it back to Loki. Loki raised an eyebrow, staring down at his own scepter. "What have you done to it?"_

_"The Tesseract has awakened," he explained without really answering the question. "It is on a little world, the human world, Midgard. They would wield its power."_

_Loki clutched his scepter tighter, noticing the significant new blue glow radiating from the tip of it. Oh he would have fun with this one. He smirked at the purple creature, understanding now why he wanted the god to go down to the planet of mortals… because no one else could. With the Bifrost destroyed, no one could travel except for the one person that escaped, falling into a black hole. Suddenly, everything made much more sense. _

_"You, our ally, know its workings as they never will. You are ready to lead, and our force, our Chitari, will follow." Loki glanced over to the side where more creatures were beginning to line up around the duo. His twisted grin grew wider as he realized just how powerful they were making him become. "The world will become yours, the universe leaving to us. And the humans, what can they do but burn?"_

He felt the spark of energy before anyone else on this pathetic realm did. It drew him directly to it, opening the wormhole deeper until he was physically sucked into it. As much as he disliked the Other, the power he held over the purple creature was astounding nonetheless and the Other did know what he was talking about. Loki could agree to work with him… for now. He never really did follow the rules.

While his appearance was planned, he could not ask for anything better than the shock and surprise written on everyone's faces. He smirked his usual grin, this one more sadistic and malicious than ever before. He stood up slowly, examining his surroundings. He had a mission and the Tesseract drew him right to it. This was what he needed. It was almost too easy, where was the fun anymore?

"Sir!" There came an exclamation from the middle of the room, from the one with an eye patch. Loki did not recognize him but when he shifted his gaze to the man standing next to him, Loki could see who he was clear as day. Agent Clint Barton, a few years older but still the same broken child that the god remembered. Somehow, he knew that this wasn't the only person from his previous visit whose paths he would cross in time. "Put down the spear!"

Loki looked down at his scepter, debating how he wanted to try out his newfound power, and then quickly fired a beam of energy at the shouting man with the one eye. Everyone ducked out of the way and Loki leapt up in the air towards the guards that were threatening to surround him. He came down hard, striking the flesh of where the mortal's heart should be and then turned around, slitting another's throat. He smirked, shooting bolts of deadly energy at the remaining guards trying to contain him. They fired their guns at him, but the bullets merely bounced off of his armor. He should have kept that on the first time he was on this realm. Clint moved towards Loki, recognition flaring in his eyes, but Loki grabbed his arm before he could make another move.

"You have heart," Loki smirked, adding to himself silently, "You always have."

He allowed himself to enter Clint's mind for a moment, and he was instantly overwhelmed with memories of their previous encounter. He exited not a minute later with another smirk plastered across his pale face. Good, he remembered clearly. Apparently, the death of his brother was still a sore topic. He touched the tip of his scepter to Clint's heart, energy filling the agent's body and glassing over his eyes until they turned an ice blue color. He pocketed his gun.

Loki bit his tongue in excitement, turning around and repeating the actions to another unnamed agent. It did not matter who he was, the god was merely ecstatic about his new mind-control power, all Loki really wanted was Clint.

A click was heard from behind the god and, even without turning around, Loki knew that the eye-patched agent was trying to take the Tesseract and run away with it. "Please don't," he said calmly as if they were old friends having a brief conversation. "I still need that."

"This doesn't have to get any messier," the agent responded, gesturing around to the mess of dead agents and guards that Loki had already created. A masterpiece.

"Of course it does," Loki cocked his head to one side. "I have come too far for anything else. I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose."

Another scientist stood up among the wreckage, exclaiming, "Loki? Brother of Thor?" The god of mischief suppressed an eye roll. It was always about Thor, wasn't it.

"We have no quarrel with your people," that was the first agent again.

Loki smirked, "An ant has no quarrel with a boot."

"You planning to step on us?"

The Other's words haunted Loki's head, giving him further confidence in what his unlimited powers could do and what his silver tongue could say. He was capable of this and so much more. "I come with glad tidings of a world made free."

"Free from what?"

That was the catch. "Freedom," Loki said simply. "Freedom is life's greatest lie. Once you accept that, in your heart -" He broke off, spinning around and touching the tip of his scepter to the scientist's heart again. If he was an old companion of his so-called brother, then he wanted the balding man for himself. He always did want what he could not have, it was simply in his nature. He waited until his eyes too glassed icy blue before he continued his sentence.

"You will know peace."


	16. Chapter 16

"In your heart, you will know peace."

Loki smirked at his surrounding audience of sorts, glad of the chaos he had already brought. Clint and a few other agents were already under his control and countless others would fall before the god by the time he was done. That much was almost guaranteed. The director's face - Director Fury naturally - grew darker and darker as he realized that he was almost powerless to stop the mischief god.

"Yeah," he finally spoke up. "You say peace, I kinda think you mean the other thing."

Loki's smirk grew wider as he could detect the uneasiness behind the larger man's face. It was pleasant to watch such a bold man squirm under his skin but the dark-haired god did applaud him for keeping his outside features almost stock still and calm. However, he was not the only one who noticed the internal change in Director Fury.

"Sir," Clint turned to Loki, first demonstrating his loyalty to the god. "Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow and drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us."

Loki's attention whipped back to the older man just as he responded, "Like the pharaohs of old."

The god of mischief's grin turned into more of a grimace as he raised an eyebrow in his newly acquired scientist's direction. He didn't even know the old man's name. But the scientist seemed to prove useful for the time being until Loki got what he wanted out of him. Then, disposal would most likely be necessary.

"He's right," the scientist said, despite Loki's thoughts running throughout his mind. "The portal is collapsing in on itself. We've got maybe two minutes before this goes critical."

Loki pivoted his stance around to face Fury again, the smirk reappearing with a hint of satisfaction. "Well then." Time to put his newly acquired power to the test. He shifted his gaze slightly to Clint's and spoke in his mind softly. "Shoot him." It was barely a second before the mind-controlled thought entered the archer's brainwave function. Clint reacted almost instantly, reaching into his side pocket where he kept his trusty pistol and fired directly at Fury.

The director went flying backwards and Loki's smirk grew wider if that was even remotely possible. This was going to be too easy. He nodded to Clint at the case which now contained the Tesseract who obliged almost as if the thought was his own. Loki smiled devishly at the fallen director before leading his party of brainwashed agents out of the room.

Clint resumed his position at Loki's side as the group exited the crumbling building and headed down to the basement of the headquarters. A female agent approached the group, and Loki took a step backwards, not wanting to draw attention to himself more than necessary.

Clint nodded to the female agent, "We need these vehicles."

As Loki climbed into the back of one of the mortal cars, he narrowed his eyes in Clint's direction. "Don't say my name," he whispered mentally to the archer. "Just walk away."

"Who's that?" the female agent nodded to Loki and the god continued to avoid her gaze. A ruckus would not be ideal in this situation. They could not afford to be buried under all of this rubble. Loki might survive but then he would lose all of his minions.

Loki watched as the scientist and the other agents climbed into the front portion of the car while he perched himself on the trailer. "He didn't tell me." Good job Clint, now get in the car and drive away.

The radio on the female agent's belt crackled and came to life. Shit. Perhaps next time he should specify where to shoot people so that they can stay dead. Loki squeezed his eyes shut, not sure what the undead director was saying, but he knew that it couldn't be anything good. Clint turned around from walking away and shot at the female agent quickly who rolled out of the way at the last moment, ducking behind a wall. Clint practically dove into the driver's seat to avoid the female agent's return fire and turned the key in the car's ignition so that it roared to life. Loki grabbed onto the side of the car, stumbling around as the car sped away from the scene.

"Maria's good," Clint warned, shouting back at the god from the front seat. "She won't lose us easily."

Loki got the warning, especially since now that he knew her name. He would do everything that he could to destroy this Maria agent. Clint sped around as the Tesseract began shutting down on itself and crumbling around their escaping vehicles. Loki held onto the side of the trailer, glaring back at the scientist and Clint, before he whipped his head back around to lock eyes with the female agent herself. Maria. She would be dead before she could blink if he had anything to do with it.

The tunnel was dimly lit and traffic zoomed around the chasing cars as they attempted to evacuate the building as quickly as possible. Loki shifted his position on the truck bed and fired his scepter twice at Maria's vehicle pursuing them. The portal continued to collapse in on itself as the rocks remained tumbling from the ceiling and the sides of the narrowing tunnel. Maria dodged the blasts, swerving her car around at the last minute, and Loki made a face. She wasn't escaping that easily. He sent a mental note to Clint to pick up the speed, he didn't like the way that she was gaining on them, before firing more, this time around the edges and walls of the tunnel instead of the car itself. He ignored the bullets bouncing off the truck that Maria fired in return. Like they would do anything anyway…

The tunnel finally collapsed completely with the aid of Loki's magic and he gave a final smirk at the agent now trapped in the wreckage before the truck swerved around the corner and disappeared into the night. He nodded to himself once, closing his eyes and enjoying the peace for a moment. But it only lasted a moment.

A whirring sound interrupted Loki's thoughts and he popped open his green eyes to see another mortal vehicle - this one in the sky - flying above the escaping vehicles. The road grew smaller and smaller, and the dark-haired god knew he had to do something if they were to get out alive. A bullet grazed his skin from the flying mortal vehicle, and he hissed in anger, watching the wound heal itself easily. Loki only had to shoot once with the magic from the scepter and the vehicle came crashing to the ground, bursting into flames. He watched as the undead director himself walked away from the crash, bruised but alive. Damn it certainly took a lot to kill this man. Loki smirked once last time before the truck drove off into the distance.

But somehow, Loki knew that it wouldn't be the last time that he saw Director Fury. No, this journey was far from over.


End file.
